Backyard Poultry Farming: Eliza D’Souza’s backyard poultry farming changed the lives of women farmers

Backyard poultry farming is a great way for women farmers to improve their income, nutrition and quality of life, as Eliza D’Souza’s success shows.

Backyard poultry farming has not only become an important source of income for women farmers these days, but it is also improving their nutritional security and quality of life. Eliza D’Souza’s story as a successful farmer is a great example of this, who gave a new direction to her poultry farming through scientific measures and gave a new lease of life to her life.

Eliza D’Souza’s early challenges

D’Souza is a young poultry farmer from Thivim village in Bardez taluka of Goa. Who was completely new to the concept of backyard poultry farming. When she started her poultry farm in 2019, she faced many initial problems. She had a small coop, which was located in a low-lying land.

The chicks in this coop had a very high mortality rate due to lack of proper knowledge of poultry farming. Also, there was an outbreak of diseases like cannibalism and coccidiosis in her flock. Apart from this, she was also unable to vaccinate herself, and it was difficult for her to increase the size of the flock without proper breeding and incubation of chicks. The high prices of commercial chicks in the market and the lack of proper management according to the season were also a big challenge for her.

Solution to problems related to poultry farming

To deal with all these problems, Eliza D’Souza took training on scientific poultry farming (Backyard Poultry Farming) at ICAR-CCARI, Goa. Through this training, he gained knowledge of poultry flock care and management, housing and nutritional measures, egg collection and incubation, and breeder flock management.

Eliza D’Souza constructed a poultry shed on barren land based on scientific approach, which was especially suitable for hot and high rainfall areas. After this, he obtained advanced Gramapriya germplasm from the poultry unit of the institute and received chicks, feeders, water drinking machines and chick feed under a project funded by NABARD.

He practiced flock breeding in the right way and expanded his flock by hatching chicks from eggs. Along with this, he adopted methods of preparing nutritious feed from local herbs and plants, which reduced his feed cost. Thus, he took measures to prevent coccidiosis through proper lighting, and proper litter management to maintain productivity in every season.

Impact and success story

Initially Eliza D’Souza started poultry farming with only 20 Gramapriya chicks, but as a result of her persistent hard work and scientific approach, she gradually expanded her farm. Today she is able to accommodate about 250 Gramapriya parent stock. Apart from this, she produces about 160 chicks per batch through selective breeding and hatching. Her farm also rears diverse poultry such as guinea fowl, turkeys and local chickens.

Eliza D’Souza started selling her product in the market under the brand name “JOAN’S FARM”. In 2023, she earned an income of ₹97,000/- by selling her poultry products in local markets. Her success proves that if there is a scientific approach and right guidance in Backyard Poultry Farming, then even a small enterprise can turn into a successful business.

Backyard poultry farming has given a new path to women farmers

Eliza D’Souza’s success story shows that women farmers can not only ensure the nutritional security of their family but also become financially self-reliant. Through businesses like Backyard Poultry Farming, women can get good results even in small investments. This is an ideal professional path especially for women living in rural and semi-urban areas, which provides them with opportunities not only for their livelihood but also for their prosperity and respect in the society. Eliza D’Souza’s journey teaches us that if you have the right knowledge, guidance and patience, you can turn challenges into opportunities. Backyard poultry farming is one such area where good results can be achieved with low investment and right management, and it can become an empowerment tool for women farmers. 

Conclusion

The success journey of women in backyard poultry farming with scientific approach and guidance can become a source of inspiration for the whole world. Like Eliza D’Souza, many women can step into this field and achieve great success with small investment. Her success is proof that with scientific methods, right training and guidance, women farmers can not only increase their nutritional security but also their income.