Guwahati: Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday inaugurated a hatchery here which is targeted to produce eight lakh chicks every month.

The hatchery on Assam Livestock and Poultry Corporation Ltd (Alpco) premises at Panjabari is expected to benefit 2.19 lakh farmers directly and over a lakh indirectly.

The corporation has set up the hatchery with Rs 2.63 crore assistance from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).

"Till now the farmers had to depend on imported chicks which escalated the production cost. The hatchery will give a new impetus to the poultry sector," said Alpcho chairman Manoj Saikia.

The All Assam Poultry Farmers and Traders Association, on the other hand, said 34 hatcheries are being run by the private sector in the state with chick production capacity more than the total demand. "Assam has been self-sufficient in chick production for the past six years," said Mridul Borah, secretary of the association.

He said the demand of chicks is around 65 lakh a month. "But the state produces around 76 lakh chicks a month for which farmers end up selling chickens at cheap prices though the benefit is reaped by businessmen, not by customers," he said.

The price of a chick is Rs 57 at present. "The high cost is because of scarcity of eggs for the hatcheries. The farmers would have benefited more had the state government thought about producing eggs," Borah said.

Sonowal said the poultry sector has an important role to play in achieving his government's target of doubling farm income by 2022.

He also gave away the Mukhya Montrir Prerona Bota to 10 people who have got success in rearing poultry, pigs and milk production.

Sonowal said Alpco can be the most profit-making company in the state because of an existing market for its products. He said the future of the state will be good only if village economy turns healthy.