Father of Indian poultry farming (1935-1996)
TBanda Vasudev Rao or B.V.Rao was an Indian agriculturist and poultry farmer, considered the Father of poultry farming in India. Born in 1935 at Chanchalguda, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, he died in 1996. He received the Padmashree in 1990 as the architect of Indian poultry industry’s growth and modernisation.
In the early 1960s, as a child, he loved being among the chickens at his home, watching them for hours, as they brooded over their eggs. After chasing many jobs, he finally found his vocation among birds.
A training programme in dairy and poultry farming offered by the Rajendranagar Agricultural University fetched him his first challenge as an entrepreneur from an American named Moore, who gave him 500 birds to tend to. Rao proved to be his star pupil, and learnt everything about poultry rearing.
Soon, Rao dreamt of his own poultry farm, but lacked the finance. Uttaradevi, his wife, sold her jewellery and with the help of her husband’s friends collected capital for his venture without his knowledge, and invested in a seven acre plot.
In 1971, Rao started Venkateshwara Hatcheries Ltd., near Pune with a friend, and within a year, had secured 70 percent of the country’s market share. It went on to become one of the largest and most integrated poultry groups in the world, and soon he established a chain of hatcheries in more than nine states, with interests in poultry, processed food, animal vaccines and pharmaceuticals, with offices and production facilities in 17 countries.
With the poultry industry still in a fledgling state, immunisation of the chicks was a major issue. Bugbear vaccines were not only expensive, but had to be imported and were often unsatisfactory, due to poor storage during transport. Further, there were too many formalities included in the lists of allowable imports. He lobbied with the government and finally got the vaccine included.
He gathered expertise from various vaccine institutes in the US and then convinced the government of the need for collaboration. Production finally began in 1978 at the vaccine plant he established, and later two more companies – Ventri Biologicals and Srini Biologicals – were also set up.
Rao set up a 40,000 strong layer farm and a 5,000 per week broiler farm as the best available training ground for students who received hands-on training. He also set up a mother lab, where all problems connected with all birds were tackled.
The National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC), as it exists today, was the result of Rao’s hard work and foresight. The egg movement began when a few farmers wanted to form a cooperative for egg marketing on the lines of Dr. Verghese Kurien’s milk co-operative. Motivated by Rao, they travelled across the country, organising over 300 meetings with groups, individuals, and traders, to help unite poultry farmers and take control of their own destiny.
His clarion call ‘My Egg, My Price, My Life’, helped them realise their objective. On 14 May 1982, NECC was formally registered as a Trust under the Societies Registration Act and started deciding egg prices across the country. Rao was also the President of WPSA (World Poultry Science Association), India, from 1993 to 1996 and Distinguished Poultry Scientist at the International Poultry Hall of Fame in Istanbul, Turkey on 11 June 2004.
Rao devoted his life towards the growth and modernisation of Indian poultry production, transforming it from a backyard activity into a vibrant industry. Driven by science and technology, the poultry industry is today one of the most powerful engines for growth of rural economy in India, supporting the livelihood of over two million people. He is a role model for development workers across the country. His name continues to have a profound impact on the industry.