Kakinada: The Emu-rearing farmers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are waiting for a waiving of their loans of Rs 150 crore as the scheme has been a total failure due to lack of marketing facilities for their produce. Families of agriculture farmers are in distress after they took up Emu farming.
“Emu growers incurred major losses. We along with 25 MPs submitted a representation to PM Modi, finance minister Arun Jaitley, the Union agriculture minister and officials seeking a waiving of loans of Emu growers,” said Eluru MP Maganti Babu.
He said Emu farmers are in distress and Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu supported the farmers’ cause.
According to sources, NABARD has introduced a scheme of “Rearing Emu birds” in 2005 and the Union ministry of animal husbandry and other related departments incl-uding central and state governments conducted seminars to counsel farmers that Emu farming was a profitable one and that farmers can come out from the struggles of cultivating regular agriculture crops such as paddy.
NABARD offered '15 lakh as interest-free loan for upto nine years and another '6 lakh with an interest of agricultural loans and '3 lakh for beneficiary contribution.
Officials told farmers that if they invested Rs 30 lakh per unit, they could earn more than Rs 50 lakh per 100 birds’ rearing. Nearly 500 farmers belonging to combined Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, who were in great distress due to losses from routine agriculture crops, were attracted to the NABARD scheme and took up Emu Farming.
“But, there were no marketing facilities — either of egg, egg to chick or meat. None of the hotels came forward to buy Emu products. We bought machines by spending huge money for producing oil from Emu birds and also for its hatchery. Tho-ugh we asked about the marketing facilities for their produce, NABARD officials are up in arms and promised farmers to reschedule their loans,” said Emu Rearers Victims' Association president Kantheti Venkata Raju. He said many of the farmers closed their farms unable to feed to the birds. He requested the Union Government to help the farmers for their survival.
