This flightless business of emus

On patches of land scattered in a hilly area, Kunwar Padam Singh and his joint family grow wheat, vegetables, turmeric and ginger in Tikker village of Solan district, Himachal Pradesh. The produce is not enough to eke out a decent living. So when Padam Singh saw an advertisement for emu farming, promising big earnings in a short time, he was drawn to the idea.

He spent about ₹2 lakh to construct an emu farm with protective grills and a small shelter. The dealer gave Padam Singh 10 pairs of emus, said to be priced at ₹22,000 a pair, in June this year after taking an advance of ₹50,000 and promising to buy eggs at the rate of ₹1,000 each.

As the dealer had claimed that each emu hen would lay 30 eggs between October and March, Padam Singh expected to earn ₹3 lakh from each of his emu pairs. It was not until much later that he found out from other farmers that an emu hen laid not more than five to six eggs in a season and there was no market for them.

When the dealer demanded payment of ₹2 lakh, Padam Singh insisted on being paid for at least 30 eggs or the return of his advance. He wanted to return the birds as he could no longer afford to feed them. But the dealer refused to take them back.

Padam Singh has spent over ₹40,000 on feeding these high-priced Australian birds. He is the latest in a long line of farmers in the State who have fallen prey to the false promises of emu traders.

Sudhir of Narag village in Sirmour district bought his 10 pairs of emus at ₹30,000 per pair from a dealer in Maharashtra in 2010. In less than two years he knew he had been duped. He says each emu hen did not lay more than five eggs, the cost of artificially hatching the eggs was high and there were no takers for emu meat. Finally, he sold the emus at ₹18,000 a pair to buyers in Jammu and Kashmir.

Emu traders have time and again trapped farmers by promising to turn around their fortunes. At one time, even Nabard used to offer subsidy for the business, but no longer.

Solan-based Ashish Naval and his company set up a chain of farms and dealers countrywide, offering support to new and existing emu farmers. Calling it a million-dollar business, they claim emu meat is fat-free, cholesterol-free, and beneficial to arthritis patients. The emu’s toe nails, egg shells, feathers and skin are sought after by fashion and art and craft industries, they say. When confronted with the issue of farmers suffering huge losses, Naval does not deny it and accuses the poultry industry of campaigning against emu farming to protect its markets.

Farmers in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab are unaware that their counterparts in southern states have suffered at the hands of unscrupulous emu dealers. More worryingly, others in Uttarakhand and Jharkhand are now being wooed.