Agro Tech News
Special Issue No.1, 02 December ’98
Venkateshwara hatcheries: The Pioneers In Poultry Farming
India is the fifth largest producer of eggs and the twenty-second producer of broilers in the world. The credit for making it one of the world’s largest poultry product producers goes to the Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group. The late Dr. B.V. Rao revolutionized the industry by bringing it at undependable trade, the poultry industry was pitch forked into the big league thanks to the vision, dynamism and efficiency of first Dr. Rao and now his daughter Mrs. Anuradha Desai. They have the largest network of hatcheries in India which are also engaged in R&D and training.
Dr. Rao’s initiation into the poultry business took place in the early 60’s. By 1969 he had operationalized the Venkateshwara Poultry Farm at Hyderabad. He contributed in making India’s poultry market self reliant by streamlining pureline and breeder operations, vaccines, medicines, specific pathogen free eggs, pellet feed mills, poultry and egg processing and microprocessing controlled incubation systems and automatic feeding units. Dr. Rao set up the National Egg Co-ordination Committee and the National Broiler Co-operative Marketing Federation. He also set up the INstitute of poultry Management of India and the Poultry Diagnostic and Research Centre which has trained more than 1300 entrepreneurs from India and other developing countries.”
His daughter Mrs. Anuradha Desai is the Managing Director and Chairperson of the group. Her aim is to provide all support services to the farmer under one umbrella, be they related to infrastructural support, technological input, operational or functional guidance. Through their large network they have provide employment opportunities, especially in rural areas. She received the Best Woman Entrepreneur Gold Award from the Institute of Marketing Management in 1990. She is the President of the World’s Poultry Congress and the Chairperson of its Indian branch.