VI. Efforts of the Poultry Households Surveyed to Capture Environmental Externalities

6.1 Current Pathways of Nutrient Use (from manure and dead animals) in the Households Surveyed

To have a general picture of the current pathway of nutrient use from broiler farms at a glance, flowcharts showing the destinations and use of manure and dead animals by production arrangement and scale of operation are given by Figures 6.1 to 6.4. The proportions of farm household using such pathway are indicated in parentheses.

The most common scenario of disposal of manure for the broiler farms surveyed was to sell it. Seventy-nine percent of the smallholder broiler producers sold it, eight percent gave it away, fourteen percent used it on their own farm, and less than one percent dumped it. Ninety-five percent of the large broiler producers sold it and five percent used it on their own farms. Most of the manure was piled in either open sheds (72.4%) or closed sheds (25.2%). Only a small amount (2.4%) was immediately used after being cleaned out. When used on farm it was used primarily as an organic fertilizer. When it was used off farm it was used either as a fertilizer, for brick building, fuel bricks, or mushroom substrate. There was similar mortality in the growout phase for small-scale producers (3.7% mortality) and large-scale producers (4.2% mortality). Most dead animals were buried or sold to a secondary market as a source of food. Close to 70% of both small and large scale broiler producers buried their dead animals. Selling frozen dead birds to a secondary market was also practiced by small-scale producers (26%) and large-scale producers (19%). Incineration was practiced more by large-scale producers (9.4%) than small-scale producers (3%). This may be due to the capital cost involved. Though feeding dead animals to fish is reported to be a practice in India, none of the households surveyed disposed of their dead birds in this manner.

The most common scenario for the disposal of manure in layer farms surveyed was selling it. Ninety percent of the small-scale layer farms sold it and ninety-three percent of the large layer farms sold it. Probably due to its market value, none of the small-scale producers surveyed gave the manure away and less than a half a percent of large-scale farmers gave the manure away. Most of the manure was stored in open sheds, though some stored it in closed sheds. The large-scale producers surveyed report that 72% was stored in open sheds while only 26% was stored in closed sheds. Only 2.3% of the large-scale producers used it immediately. Similarly, small-scale layer producers stored most of the manure in either open (81.3%) or closed (27.8 %) pits. Approximately 2% of the small-scale layer producers used the manure immediately on their own farm. When manure was used in the farm, small and large layer producers used it as an organic fertilizer. Similarly as for broilers, when layer manure was used off farm, it was used either as a fertilizer, fuel/brick, brick building, or mushroom substrate.

There was similar mortality in the grow-out phase for small-scale layer producers (7.6% mortality) and large-scale layer producers (11.2% mortality). This was slightly higher than for broilers, but it is not surprising given the longer life span of the animals. Most dead animals were buried or sold to a secondary market as a source of food. Close to 65% of both small and large scale broiler producers buried their dead animals. Small-scale layer producers (27%) and large-scale producers (18%) also practiced selling frozen dead birds to a secondary market. Incineration was practiced more by the large-scale producers (15%) than the small-scale producers (5%). Though feeding dead animals to fish is reported to be a practice in India, none of the households surveyed disposed of their dead birds in this manner.

Figure 6.1 Pathway of Broiler Manure and Dead Birds in Large-scale Farm Households Surveyed - India, 2002.

* No. of unit having manure treatment equipment.

** Depends on season

** Depends on location

n.a. = not available

Data: Removed by labour/hired labour (not available)

Figure 6.2 Pathway of Broiler Manure and Dead Birds in Small-scale Households Surveyed - India, 2002.

* No. of unit having manure treatment equipment.

** Depends on season

** Depends on location

n.a. = not available

Figure 6.3 Pathway of Layer Manure and Dead Birds in Smallholder Households Surveyed - India, 2002.

* No. of unit having manure treatment equipment.

** Depends on season

** Depends on location

n.a. = not available

Data: Removed by labour/hired labour (not available)

Figure 6.4 Pathway of Layer Manure and Dead Birds in Large Scale Households Surveyed - India, 2002.

* No. of unit having manure treatment equipment.

** Depends on season

** Depends on location

n.a. = not available

Data: Removed by labour/hired labour (not available)

6.2 Manure Use in the Households surveyed

Environmental problems from broiler production and layer do not seem to occur in some households when a) they are able to sell the manure, and b) they are able to spread manure on agricultural lands. Markets for both broiler and layer manure do exist and most of the farms surveyed have access to such markets. In fact, 79% of small-scale broiler households and 90% of the small-scale layer households and almost all of the large-scale broiler and layer growers in the sample are able to sell poultry manure (see Table 6.1). At the point of disposal, there is more or less zero discharge of waste into the environment for these raisers.

Rice and sugar cane are the main crops grown in the regions surveyed and where manure is applied. In Andhra Pradesh, the application of nitrogen for rice is 120 kg/ha and the application of phosphorous is 60 kg/ha. The uptake of these nutrients for these crops is 100 kg/ha of nitrogen and 31 kg/ha for phosphorous. The application of nitrogen for sugarcane in this state is 250 kg/ha of nitrogen and the application of phosphorous is 100 kg/ha. The uptake of these nutrients is 83 to 105 kg/ha of nitrogen and 32-40 kg/ha of phosphorous. In Haryana, the application for rice is the same as Andhra Pradesh but the uptake is slightly higher. The crop uptake for rice in this state is 100 kg/ha for nitrogen and 32-35 kg/ha for phosphorous. The application of the nutrients for sugarcane is 150 kg/ha of nitrogen and 90 to 100 kg/ha of phosphorous. The crop uptake is 100 to 105 kg/ha of nitrogen and 32-35 kg/ha of phosphorous.

6.3 Dead Bird Disposal in the Households Surveyed

As for disposal of dead animals, the most common disposal method is burial (see Table 6.2). Approximately 70% of both small and large-scale producers bury their dead broilers. Similarly, over 60% of all layer producers bury their dead layers. Some raisers also incinerate dead birds, but a higher percentage of these were large-scale producers.

The second most common method of disposal is to sell them in the secondary market, which is largely for human consumption.

6.4 Environmental Cost Borne by Broiler and Layer Farms

There are differences between large and small growers in the cost control of flies, for removal of manure and dead animals (see Table 6.3). Small-scale layer producers spend more Rs. per batch for the removal of dead birds than larger producers. There was a considerable difference in expenditures between small and large-scale layer producers in controlling flies and cleaning out the sheds. Large-scale layer producers spent nearly double per batch than small-scale producers. Though the difference for controlling flies, removal of dead birds, and shed cleaning per batch for broiler is less pounced than for layers, small scale broiler producers consistently spent less per batch than large broiler producers.

Table 6.4 shows the environmental differences in environmental mitigation costs per output. The average expenditure for environmental abatement in India was 1.88 RS per kg of broiler meat. When broken down into size categories small-scale broiler producers spent more on environmental abatement than large-scale producers. Small-scale broiler producers spent on average 2.5 Rs. per kg of broiler meat on environmental abatement effort compared to an expenditure of 0.4 Rs. per kg of broiler meat by the large-scale broiler producers. Small-scale layer producers on the other hand spent slightly less per egg (0.0004 Rs. per egg) than large-scale layer producers spent (0.0002 Rs. per egg).

Figure 6.5 illustrates the mean farm cost by output size for layers. Farms producing on average 25,622 eggs had slightly higher environmental costs per 100 eggs than larger or smaller scale operators.

Figure. 6.5 Mean farm environmental cost by output size

Source: India Poultry Survey, 2002

6.5 Mass Balance Calculations for Broiler and Layer Farms

The utilization and disposal of animal manure and dead animals has become a concern recently as the structure of the poultry industry has shifted toward fewer but larger operations, and the percentage of animals raised in confinement has increased. Traditionally, applied the manure to agriculture land to promote plant growth thereby recycle much of the nutrients. With fewer but larger operations, the manure has become more concentrated in local areas. When application rates exceed the carrying capacity of the land to assimilate nutrients, repeated applications can lead to a buildup of nutrients in the sole. This in turn, increases the potential for nutrients to move from the field through leaching and runoff and to pollute ground waster (Kellogg et al 2000).

Thus, differences in the amount of money spent on trying to capture the environmental externality and the method used may be dictated on whether a farmer has the ability to utilize all manure on their own farm or if they need to remove it. It is recognized that by using total land as an indicator of all land that could be planted with rice, we are overestimating the assimilation of these nutrients on the available hectares as some may have buildings on parts of the land and thus not be available for cropping. It is alos recognized that there may be disagreement in the exact coefficients being used particularly as different lands will have different assimilation capacity. The assimilation capacity will also differ by soil type. The purpose of this report is not only the relative differences between size producers thus though the exact coefficients may change the difference between size producers should remain roughly the same.

Figures 6.7 and 6.8 illustrate the percentage of farmers, by size category, within a given range of nutrient balance to assimilate nitrogen if all the available land was planted with rice. Figures 6.9 and 6.10 illustrate the same for phosphorous. These ranges are indicative of a farmer to assimilate the nutrients on to their existing land. The mass balance calculations performed here are used as rough estimates of actual nutrient balances. They serve to indicate households with potential problem areas, as well as where further research and technology transfer may be the more productive for certain size of households. They also serve to indicate why some households have active involvement with manure markets.

None of the poultry farmers have enough land to absorb all the manure in terms of nitrogen or phosphorous on their own land. In terms of nitrogen, sixty-five percent of the small-scale producers surveyed worried about getting rid of only 10 metric tons of broiler manure, but five percent had to worry about getting rid of 20-30 metric tons of broiler manure. Over 50 percent of the large-scale broiler producers had to find a disposal method for over 30 metric tons. For layers, 100 percent of the small-scale producers worried about getting rid of less than 5 metric tons of layer manure while over 50 percent of the large layer producer worried about getting rid of over 10 metric tons. Similar results are seen for phosphorous for both broiler and layers.

Table 6.1: Distribution of Farmers by method of disposal of manure (in %) Broiler and Layer Production, India, 2002.

Source: India Poultry Survey, 2002

Table 6.2: Percentage Distribution of Units by Mode and Location of Disposal of Dead Birds

Notes: i) Small = Less than 10,000 birds.

ii) Large = More than 10,000 birds

Figures in parentheses represent number of units.

Source of Data: Indian Poultry Survey, 2002

Notes: i) Small = Less than 10,000 birds.

ii) Large = More than 10,000 birds

Source of Data: Indian Poultry Survey, 2002.

Source: India Poultry Survey, 2002.

Figure 6.7: Nitrogen mass balance calculations for broiler farms surveyed in India, 2002

Source: India Poultry Survey, 2002.

Figure 6.8: Nitrogen mass balance calculations for layer farms surveyed in India, 2002

Source: India Poultry Survey, 2002.

Figure 6.9: Phosphorous mass balance calculations for broiler farms surveyed in India, 2002

Note: A negative nutrient balance suggests that there is not enough land to absorb the nutrient indicated from manure.

Source: India Poultry Survey, 2002.

Figure 6.10: Phosphorous mass balance calculations for layers surveyed in India, 2002

Source: India Poultry Survey, 2002.