Making business sense of research in the Indian poultry sector

“None of us is as powerful as all of us” with this philosophy in mind, Dr. Shivaji Dey, a renowned poultry nutritionist from Kolkata, conceptualized to create a consortium of consultants that would address the unmet need of technical know-how of a medium or small-scale poultry enterprise. Agrivet Consultancy, with its panel of veterinarians, nutritionists, and breeding experts leading the way, came into existence in August 2012.

In 2015, Dr. Sudipto Haldar, an eminent scientific mind in applied poultry nutrition with a robust experience in academic and commercial research joined the firm, making it the first choice of multinational and Indian organizations seeking to generate accurate, relevant, and detailed local data to authenticate their products. Ever since it has only grown and later metamorphosed into a world-class scientific research facility for animal agriculture; establishing Agrivet Research & Advisory Pvt Ltd.

Journey so far

The research facility includes a microbiology lab, wet chemistry lab, molecular biology lab, pilot scale pellet feed mill, open (concrete and mud floor) and EC sheds for layer and broiler trials, which essentially recreate all the necessary facilities of a standard farm on a miniature form. The company is the only private research entity in Asia with its feed mill for research purposes which is uniquely crafted to replicate a real-life situation. With a production capacity of 100 Kg/hour, this small-scale feed mill is an engineering marvel as it was difficult to design, build, and operate. Agrivet has already collaborated with more than 100 Indian and International feed additive companies, integrators, and other poultry producers and carried out over 250 research projects so far.

Since its inception, Agrivet Research and Advisory has been working towards addressing the requirements of domestic as well as international clientele. With far more stringent regulatory protocol on the horizon, India looks to be nearing towards global standards of the product licensing process. In August 2022, the 10th anniversary celebration of “Coffee with Agrivet”, attended by over 250 industry stakeholders the company encouraged customers to prioritize research as a buying criterion and expand their internal research to bring it credibility.

A professionally managed research facility, such as this one, allows the producer to make an informed decision when presented with multiple products at varying price points, where it provides a better understanding of their cost vs benefit.

In the last ten years, the industry has advanced from simplistic parameters such as feed conversion ratio (FCR) and body weight to more complex parameters like gene expression. The research firm analyses the requested parameters and recommends further studies that could differentiate their clients’ products. Additionally, the company performs its research with samples taken from current studies – often a more expensive option – enhancing its research capacities.

Sustainability – a way forward

Sustainability is defined as the ability to produce an animal protein with the essential nutrients ensuring optimum health and viability of birds with minimum environmental footprint. In terms of nutrition, Agrivet is focusing on Insect meal which is a newer technology in the context of the Indian poultry industry, and before collaborating with industry partners, the company is conducting its own research to develop a standardized protocol.

The company also surveyed to understand the challenges in the industry and to its surprise, the biggest challenge was a huge shortage of skilled manpower and its retention. While a decade ago, the major challenge for the industry was with aspects of diseases, which are still prevalent, however, the industry is equipped to manage them by founding ways to minimize its effect. Now the main challenge is human capital management from across various levels of the industry. Developing and maintaining a diversified workforce, maximizing the efficiency and productivity of workers, and motivating and retaining top talent, implementing a system of employee training and development to ensure a high level of preparedness and knowledge.

All kinds of workforce management have thus become a huge challenge to the industry. That is where the idea of Agrivet School comes into relevance, with a focus on unique industry orientation programs designed to bridge the gaps in the industry’s shortage of skilled manpower.

The programs are customized into the up-skilling program for early career professionals and the re-skilling program for experienced professionals. Their programs aim at offering knowledge and skills in Broiler Farm Management, Layer Farm Management, Diseases and Health needs of poultry, operations in broiler integration and feed mills, perspectives of poultry nutrition, and poultry business.

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