JB Poultry Development Firm will be spending more than Rs30 million on new poultry processing plants at Sahajpur village development committee in Kailali district.

In the first stage, the firm has set a target to produce 30,000 chickens using advanced technology.

Proprietor Bikram Bahadur Singh said they had already spent Rs15 million on 10 advanced production plants. “We have aimed to expand production to 100,000 chickens annually in the next two years,” he added.

“We have almost completed the first stage of the construction of the chicken shelter while we will be adding another 18 advanced shelters in the second stage,” said Singh. He added that they also planned to go into the hatchery business to supply eggs and chicks in the next two years.

Inaugurating JB Poultry on Monday, Gopi Hamal, coordinator of the Seti Zonal unit of the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry,

said chicken sales in Far Western Nepal amounted to more than Rs1 billion annually. “The initiative could reduce the region’s dependency on the chicken business,” he said. 

Highlighting the expanding chicken business, Dikardev Bhatta, poultry expert at the Animal Service Department, said the meat product was relatively cheaper and good for health.

“Such an initiative will also encourage youths to start their own businesses,” said Bhatta. He added that the government planned to support chicken production mainly in backward areas where such work is considered to be inferior by locals.

Speaking at the inauguration programme, representatives of banks and financial institutions and cooperatives said that they were keen on investing in the poultry business in the region.

JB Poultry has aimed to supply chicken to local markets in Kailali and Kanchanpur districts. The company currently employs 22 people.

Nepal is self-reliant in chicken with commercial production totalling 114,058 tonnes annually. Chickens are produced commercially in 64 districts in the country, and 55,871 people are engaged in the business.

According to a survey conducted by the Central Bureau of Statistics, 75 percent of the country’s commercial chicken producers are making a profit. Chitwan, Nawalparasi, Dang, Bardia and Banke are the largest chicken producing districts in Nepal.