Field evaluation and dissemination of Swarnadhara poultry for backyard farming in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka

Introduction

Backyard poultry represents an important low input livestock activity in rural India. Small numbers of chickens are commonly maintained around the household, providing eggs and meat for domestic consumption and generating supplementary cash income. The system is particularly relevant to small and resource-constrained households because poultry can be maintained with limited infrastructure and can utilize locally available feed resources. Improved poultry varieties resembling native birds have further increased the production potential of backyard systems (Rajkumar et al. 2021) [1] . The productivity of traditional village poultry, however, is often constrained by inadequate feeding, insufficient disease prevention, poor housing and limited access to improved germplasm. A field investigation of village poultry production in northeastern India reported deficiencies in balanced feeding and vaccination practices and demonstrated the potential of improved dual purpose birds to enhance production under backyard conditions (Kumaresan A et al. 2008) [ ² ] . Improved backyard poultry varieties have consequently become an important component of livestock extension programmes. Their usefulness depends not only on their genetic production potential but also on adaptability to local environmental conditions, farmer preference, availability of chicks and access to technical support (Rajkumar U et al. 2021; Kumaresan A et al. 2008) [1,2] . Swarnadhara is an improved poultry variety developed in Karnataka for backyard and mixed farming systems. Technical descriptions of the variety indicate that hens can attain approximately 3 kg body weight and cocks approximately 4 kg, with hens capable of producing about 180-190 eggs annually under suitable management (Avian Production and Management, Department of Poultry Science, www.extensionjournal.com Karnataka Veterinary, Animal and Fisheries Sciences University, Bengaluru) [3] The bird's production characteristics and suitability for backyard rearing make it relevant to smallholder poultry systems. Dakshina Kannada has a long tradition of backyard poultry keeping. Local chickens are valued for meat, eggs and their association with traditional consumption practices. Demand for native type birds is also associated with cultural and religious activities in the district. However, traditional birds generally have lower productive performance than improved poultry varieties. Consequently, introducing an improved bird that retains desirable characteristics of native poultry while providing higher production may offer an opportunity for strengthening backyard poultry based livelihoods. The introduction of improved germplasm must be accompanied by appropriate extension education. Farmers need practical knowledge regarding feeding, housing, vaccination, disease prevention, biosecurity and marketing if the productive potential of improved birds is to be realized (Kumaresan A et al. 2008) [ ² ] . Farmer Field Schools and Front Line Demonstrations provide opportunities for farmers to observe technologies under practical field conditions and to make management decisions based on their own experience. Against this background, ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dakshina Kannada, promoted Swarnadhara poultry through On-Farm Testing, Front Line Demonstrations, Farmer Field Schools and training programmes. The present study was undertaken to document the dissemination of Swarnadhara chicks and to evaluate its field level productive and economic performance in comparison with local backyard poultry.

Materials and Methods

Study location

The field programme was implemented through ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dakshina Kannada, KVAFSU, Mangaluru, Karnataka. The district represents a coastal agro-ecological region where backyard poultry forms part of mixed farming and household livelihood systems.

Introduction and dissemination of Swarnadhara

Swarnadhara poultry was introduced to farmers through the extension activities of ICAR-KVK Dakshina Kannada. The major approaches used were On-Farm Testing, Front Line Demonstrations, Farmer Field Schools and farmer training programmes. The intervention was designed to demonstrate the suitability of Swarnadhara under local backyard conditions and to improve farmer knowledge regarding: Scientific backyard poultry management; Supplementary feeding; Vaccination; Disease prevention and control; Basic biosecurity; Chick management; Marketing of birds and eggs; and Calculation of production costs and returns.

Farmer Field School intervention

A Farmer Field School was conducted using a participatory learning approach. A total of 30 farmers participated, and each farmer received 30 Swarnadhara birds. Training and practical demonstrations were conducted on routine management practices, including feeding, disease prevention, vaccination and general flock management. Farmers were encouraged to observe bird growth and production and compare the performance of improved birds with locally maintained poultry. Of the 30 participating farmers, 20 retained birds primarily for meat production, while 10 farmers retained birds for egg production.

Recording of dissemination

Annual records maintained by the KVK were used to document the number of Swarnadhara chicks distributed and the number of farmers reached from 2011-12 to 2024-25. The cumulative dissemination was calculated by summing the annual number of chicks distributed and the annual number of farmer beneficiaries recorded during the programme period.

Evaluation of meat production

The meat-production evaluation was conducted at six months of age. The average live weight of local birds and Swarnadhara birds was recorded under the field conditions of participating farmers. Economic parameters recorded were: gross expenditure per bird; gross return per bird; net return per bird; and benefitcost ratio. The live birds were valued according to the prevailing sale price used in the field evaluation.

Net return was calculated as: Net return = Gross return -Gross expenditure Benefit-cost ratio was calculated as: Benefit-cost ratio = Gross return / Gross expenditure

Evaluation of egg production

Ten farmers retained birds for egg production. Egg production was recorded up to 54 weeks of age. The following parameters were documented: number of eggs produced per bird; gross expenditure per bird; gross return per bird; net return per bird; and benefit-cost ratio.

Data analysis

The study was primarily an extension based field evaluation. Therefore, the results were summarized using descriptive statistics and economic comparisons. No inferential statistical test was applied because the intervention was conducted under farmer managed field conditions with variation in management and production environments.

Results

Dissemination of Swarnadhara poultry

The KVK programme resulted in sustained dissemination of Swarnadhara poultry in Dakshina Kannada over the 14-year period from 2011-12 to 2024-25. A total of 33, 636 Swarnadhara chicks were distributed during the study period, with 1, 907 farmer beneficiary records. The annual distribution varied considerably. The largest number of chicks was distributed during 2019-20 (5, 000), followed by 2017-18 (4, 997) and 2013-14 (4, 278). The highest number of farmers was recorded during 2014-15, when 435 farmers received Swarnadhara chicks. www.extensionjournal.com

Performance for meat production

The field evaluation of 20 farmers who retained birds for meat production showed a substantial difference between local birds and Swarnadhara birds. The average live weight of Swarnadhara birds was 2.60 kg compared with 0.65 kg in local birds. Thus, the observed live weight of Swarnadhara birds was four times that of local birds. Gross expenditure was ₹180 per Swarnadhara bird compared with ₹120 for the local bird. Despite the higher expenditure, Swarnadhara generated a gross return of ₹780 per bird compared with ₹325 for the local bird. The resulting net return was ₹600 per Swarnadhara bird compared with ₹205 per local bird. The benefit-cost ratio was 4.33 for Swarnadhara and 2.70 for local birds.

Performance for egg production

The egg-production evaluation was conducted among 10 farmers who retained birds for this purpose. Swarnadhara birds produced 142 eggs per bird up to 54 weeks, whereas local birds produced 77 eggs. Thus, the observed egg production of Swarnadhara was 84.4% higher than that of local birds. Gross expenditure was ₹450 per Swarnadhara bird compared with ₹340 for local birds. The higher production resulted in gross returns of ₹2, 036 and ₹1, 216 per bird, respectively. The net return from Swarnadhara was ₹1, 586 per bird compared with ₹876 for local birds. The corresponding benefit-cost ratios were 4.52 and 3.58.

Discussion

Backyard poultry production is an important component of smallholder livestock farming because it requires comparatively low capital investment and can provide both animal source food and supplementary household income. However, productivity of conventional indigenous chickens is generally limited by slow growth, low egg production, inadequate nutrition, disease constraints and poor access to improved germplasm. Rajkumar et al. 2021 [1] reviewed the Indian backyard poultry production system and reported that the introduction of improved chicken varieties possessing characteristics similar to native birds had transformed backyard poultry from a largely subsistence activity into a more remunerative enterprise. [4] who evaluated indigenous Miri chickens alongside improved Vanaraja and Gramapriya varieties. Their study demonstrated that improved varieties generally had higher body weights at different ages, while the indigenous birds possessed advantages for certain other production traits. Roy et al.

(2018) [5] also evaluated improved poultry under backyard farming conditions in West Bengal and reported substantially higher body weights for Vanaraja than for indigenous birds at different ages. The higher body weight observed for Swarnadhara in the present study therefore follows the general pattern reported for improved backyard poultry germplasm under farmer managed conditions. The higher live weight of Swarnadhara was reflected in the economic results. Gross expenditure was ₹180 per Swarnadhara bird compared with ₹120 for the local bird, but gross return increased from ₹325 to ₹780 per bird. Consequently, net return increased from ₹205 in local birds to ₹600 in Swarnadhara, while the benefit-cost ratio increased from 2.70 to 4.33. Similar economic benefits from improved backyard poultry have been documented in other parts of India. Rajkumar et al. 2010 [6] reported that Vanaraja and Gramapriya birds contributed to supplementary household income and generated positive returns when reared under backyard conditions. More specifically, Singh et al. (2024) [7] reported that backyard farming with Vanaraja and Srinidhi could substantially increase the income of tribal farmers in Nagaland. They also highlighted the importance of backyard poultry for meat, eggs, traditional functions and petty cash income. These findings provide supporting evidence for the economic advantage observed with Swarnadhara in Dakshina Kannada. Swarnadhara birds produced 142 eggs per bird up to 54 weeks of age compared with 77 eggs from local birds. This www.extensionjournal.com represents an increase of approximately 84.4% under the field conditions of the present study. The higher egg production was accompanied by an increase in gross return from ₹1, 216 to ₹2, 036 per bird and an increase in net return from ₹876 to ₹1, 586 per bird. The benefit-cost ratio also increased from 3.58 in local birds to 4.52 in Swarnadhara. The present observation is consistent with earlier studies demonstrating that improved backyard poultry varieties can provide higher egg production than conventional indigenous birds. Haunshi et al. (2011) [4] observed that improved varieties differed substantially from indigenous chickens in reproductive and production traits, with Gramapriya showing a particularly favourable egg production performance. Similarly, studies involving improved backyard germplasm have demonstrated that the production advantages of improved varieties can be expressed under relatively low input production systems when suitable management is provided. Pankaj et al. (2019) [8] reported improved production performance of Srinidhi compared with indigenous poultry under a Farmer FIRST Programme in Telangana and concluded that improved backyard poultry could contribute to livelihood and nutritional security. [1] emphasized that improved backyard poultry varieties have substantial potential for livelihood enhancement when supported by appropriate breeding, nutrition, housing and healthcare interventions. One of the distinctive features of backyard poultry in Dakshina Kannada is the continued preference for native type birds. The demand associated with traditional and cultural activities provides an additional market opportunity for birds that resemble local chickens.This aspect is important when selecting improved germplasm for a particular region. An improved variety may have excellent biological performance but limited adoption if its appearance, meat characteristics or market value are poorly accepted by consumers. Rajkumar et al. 2021 [1] observed that improved varieties resembling native birds had contributed to the transformation of backyard poultry into a remunerative activity in India. Singh et al.

(2024) [7] similarly noted that backyard poultry provides birds and eggs for traditional ceremonies and special occasions in addition to contributing to household income. This observation has particular relevance to Dakshina Kannada, where poultry is associated with local cultural practices. Therefore, the acceptance of Swarnadhara may be related not only to its higher production but also to its compatibility with existing farmer and consumer preferences.

Conclusion

The Swarnadhara poultry intervention implemented through ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dakshina Kannada demonstrated the potential of improved backyard poultry germplasm when combined with participatory extension education. During 2011-12 to 2024-25, 33, 636 Swarnadhara chicks were distributed to 1, 907 farmer beneficiary records. Under the field conditions evaluated, Swarnadhara birds showed higher live weight, egg production, net returns and benefit-cost ratios than local birds. The results indicate that improved backyard poultry can provide greater economic opportunities for rural households when supported by appropriate feeding, vaccination, disease prevention, biosecurity and marketing guidance. The experience also demonstrates that Farmer Field Schools, On-Farm Testing and Front Line Demonstrations can be useful mechanisms for facilitating farmer exposure and adoption of improved poultry technologies. Further studies involving larger farmer populations, standardized management conditions and statistical analysis are recommended to validate the productivity and economic advantages observed in the present field programme.

Acknowledgement

The authors sincerely acknowledge the farmers of Dakshina Kannada who participated in the On-Farm Testing, Front Line Demonstrations, Farmer Field Schools and training programmes associated with Swarnadhara poultry dissemination. The authors also acknowledge the support of ICAR-Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Dakshina Kannada, and all technical personnel involved in implementation and monitoring of the programme.

References

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