Gudari Feeds Cluster

India being the second largest developing economy of the world is experiencing rapid expansion in poultry and livestock sector. According to the National Account Statistics, 2019 report livestock contribute approximately 5.1% to the country’s GDP and 17.11% to the Agricultural GDP. The Indian animal feed industry is categorized broadly into poultry, cattle and fish or aqua feeds. According to a Rabobank report, the organized sector in India is supplying only 10 per cent of cattle and fish feed and 50 per cent of poultry feed but the bulk of the remaining feed is being produced by the unorganized sector mainly the household industries and custom mixers. Considering the huge gap between demand of animal feeds and existing manufacturing capacity, and the plenty of raw material availability at Rayagada district of Odisha, the SFURTI aims at setting up a unit for manufacturing poultry and cattle feed in Gudari Block of the district. The cluster area is famous for agricultural practices due to availability of canal irrigation facilities from Nagavali and Bansadhara rivers. Gudari is a tribal dominated area being the third largest town in Rayagada. Agriculture, Government services and petty business activities are the major sources of income for people of the cluster. Despite huge potential for agro-business, the farmers were forced to sell their produce to local haats at subdued prices. Moreover, due to the lack of technological intervention in the cluster, farmers could not explore the hacks of utilizing the waste from the raw materials like paddy and maize.