He can be counted amongst pioneers like MS Swaminathan and Verghese Kurien. Estab-lished in 1967, Vinod Kapur’s venture Keggfarms, is one of the oldest poultry breeding organisations in India.
Keggfarms (with Kegg coming from Kapur+eggs) has, since 1990, been dedicated to the development of rural-specific poultry stocks branded Kuroiler, and is the first commercial entity in India that focuses exclusively on the development, production and supply of scientifically developed poultry stocks.
Kuroiler is a “super chicken”, which grows on household waste to more than double its weight and lays three to four times more eggs than its conventional counterpart. Unlike the desi hen that produces 40 eggs in its 18-month cycle, a female Kuroiler lays 200 eggs (five times more) in the same period.
“The company is expanding its operations in both its diverse areas of activity: Kuroiler, encompassing the village and the small poultry farmer segment, and ‘Keggs’ branded table eggs,” says Kapur.
Based in Gurgaon, Haryana, the 72-year-old businessman’s success story is now being documented by the Harvard Business School and studied by the London School of Economics and the Stern School of Business. It has also sparked interest among researchers at the Bio Design Institute of Arizona State University. “Keggfarms has also recently shipped 16,000 day-old Kuroiler chicks to Ethiopia which have arrived safely and started on a promising note. The collaborating party in Ethiopia has indicated that they will ramp up inputs to over one lakh Kuroiler chicks per month. Indications of intent have also been received from other African countries,” Kapur elaborates happily.
Back home, Kapur is happy to see the steady growth of poultry production in the country. India is amongst the largest producers of eggs and broilers in the world today. “However, this phenomenal growth of industrial poultry has completely bypassed the rural sector, in which almost 30 million households raise poultry in the traditional manner,” points out the engineer. “Poultry in India continues to be driven by an almost exclusive focus on production; the concept of product quality, humane husbandry practices and consumer concerns are regrettably not focused upon. The growth, especially in the broiler sector, continues to be the subject of huge volatility leading to instability in terms of prices and sustainability. And there has been a huge increase in disease problems,” Kapur adds.
All these challenges haven’t managed to deter the septuagenarian. Delegating responsibility to his colleagues helps him find time for his passions, admits the self-proclaimed rasik and patron of Hindustani classical music. This aspect of Kapur’s life has enabled him to provide a platform to numerous talented artistes. His most recent initiative is to safeguard and sustain the fading art form of Purab Ang gayaki. “I am undertaking a national talent hunt for exponents of this kind of music, broadly in the age group of 25 to 50 under the VSK Baithak banner. The best amongst them will be awarded the Girija Devi Puraskar, named after the most iconic representative of this form of music in our time,” he concludes.