Study on Animal Health Improvement & AMR Reduction in the Indian Poultry sector

The Indian poultry sector
Poultry is one of the most important and advanced segments of the livestock sector in India, making it interesting for both domestic players and foreign investors. Over 5 MN people are directly engaged in the sector. Currently, India is the third-largest egg producer in the world (after China and the United States of America (USA)) and ranks fourth in terms of chicken meat production volumes, (after China, Brazil and the USA). Over the last six years, the per capita consumption of eggs in India has gone up from 30 to 70 eggs per year, and the consumption of poultry meat went up from 400 grams to 3.4 kg per year. As the consumption volumes are below the global rates, the consumption of eggs and poultry meat is expected to increase in the near future.

Anti-Microbial Resistance
In India, the use of antimicrobials in the livestock sector is expected to double between 2010 and 2030, which is significantly higher than the global trend. The use of antimicrobials in animal feed in India is currently an abundant and common practice. Antimicrobials are preventively applied to reduce disease risks, as growth promoters (in feed) or as sub-therapeutic treatment (in drinking water). The use of antimicrobials is effective and cheap, however, over-application of antimicrobials poses a lot of risks. Anti-Microbial Resistance (AMR) among animals, caused by over-application, causes animals to require increased doses of antimicrobials and/or other types of antimicrobials to have the desired effect. Secondly, antibiotic resistance amongst humans, caused by the consumption of products with antibiotic residues, pose serious health hazards for humans as antimicrobials to treat a disease become ineffective.