Jorhat, May 27: The Assam Agricultural University put up a poultry and livestock show, with exotic offerings like the Beltsville Small White turkey, Soviet Chinchilla rabbit and Sirohi goat.

The event was held particularly with an aim to promote turkey meat.

Rima Saikia, a faculty member of the animal husbandry department of the university, said they had successfully reared white and black turkeys and were pushing for farmers to take to these as they provide the best lean meat.

"Stuffed turkeys are traditional dishes served in European countries and America. Here they are less popular but as they are more healthy because of the lean meat. We hope that farmers would take to them," she said.

Saikia said there were other advantages in rearing these birds. "In five months, a male bird weighs 6-7kg while a female 4-5kg. They are also foragers and eat grass. As a result, there is no need to feed them, which proves to be very costly while rearing chicken," Saikia said.

Regarding the availability of chicks, she said one bird lays about 60 to 80 eggs per year and these should be hatched.

"The egg is also good for anaemic and diabetic patients, as it has a very thick albumin and the yolk component is not much," she said.

Dhrubajit Hazarika, also from the department, said the university was also promoting rabbit meat and that it had reared two rabbit breeds - the Soviet Chinchilla and New Zealand Whites - besides pure goat breeds Sirohi from Rajasthan and Jamunapari from Etawah (UP). There was also the Beetal cross from Punjab and Haryana.

"The Sirohi is best for meat and the Jamunapari for both milk and meat," he said.

University vice-chancellor K.M. Bujarbaruah, who addressed the gathering, said in Punjab he once met a farmer, who had two lakh broilers in his farm, and each day he sent one lakh eggs to the Gulf and the rest was sold in the local market.

"If 1,500 farmers in the state can keep 3,000 birds, then 90 crore eggs could be produced and the deficit here would be met," he said.

"In Jorhat, two truckloads of eggs come daily and the district requires about 10 lakh eggs a month. If 10 farms in Jorhat keep 3,000 birds then 30,000 birds could make up the deficit to a large extent and this would be a beginning," Bujarbaruah said.

He asked the farmers to form an organisation, which would be funded by Nabard.

Director of research (AAU) G.N. Hazarika said poultry and livestock farming was needed for additional income, food security of a family and employment generation.

"In Assam, 2,000 million litres of milk are required and only 800 million litres are produced - a 65 per cent deficit, 5,000 million eggs are required but only 500 million produced - a 90 per cent deficit -and 2.33 lakh tonnes of meat is the requirement but only 34,000 tonnes are produced," he said.

Hazarika asked the farmers to take to poultry and livestock farming in a big way to make up for this shortfall.