Tripura is not known for many industries or avenues for self-employment, yet, Swapan Debnath has carved a niche for himself in one of India’s most well-known small-scale industries: eggs.
But why eggs? Because one of the simplest ways to launch a successful business is to identify a gap and seek to fill it. According to data from the state Animal Resource Development Department (ARDD), Tripura requires 45 crore eggs per year while the total production of the state is around 27 to 30 crore. The rest is imported from other states like Punjab, Haryana, Telangana and Hyderabad. The per capita consumption of eggs stands at 80 per head per year. For Debnath, the gap was clear: he only had to make his claim in it.
Such is Debnath’s presence in the market that he is called “Egg Man” by his friends and family. Debnath, in many ways, has been a businessman all his life. He grew up assisting his father, the only breadwinner in a family of seven. Since then, business is the only employment he has known. Debnath’s efforts were even recognised by the Tripura government in the sector of animal protein production.
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Today, Debnath is producing close to 75,000 eggs a day in his poultry farms in his native village of Charilam under the Sepahijala district and Gandhiram located on the outskirts of Agartala.
Of course, like all things, his journey is not the result of a week’s or a month’s efforts.
Before embarking on a career as an egg entrepreneur, Debnath ran a transport business. His move to egg production started on a small scale, and success followed, but Debnath never stopped learning.
“To reach my present goal (of 75,000 eggs a day), I researched for over a year. I stayed in towns where large egg production units are situated to learn and instil the courage to make such a huge investment. The manpower that constructed and installed the advanced machines used here came from different parts of the country,” Debnath told EastMojo.
His Charilam area unit is now the state’s biggest egg hatchery. In search of land, Debnath had to shift around ten km from the main market. Encircled by rubber plantations on all sides, the unit’s site was a dense rubber garden but for the sake of his new business endeavour, the garden was cleared.
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“On September 2, 2020, the work started and within a year, production began. Initially, our product was only sold in the local and adjacent markets, but now our customer base has spread to Agartala, Belonia, Amarpur, Jatanbari, Udaipur etc. Although our production has increased we are still not able to fulfil the demands coming from different markets and customers,” Debnath told EastMojo.
Debnath points out that the government and financial institutions helped him at various levels. “A bank financed us when we submitted the project before the state government. Some private companies also started allowing credit facilities given my good business track record. Right now, I have three farms, two in the Sepahijala district and one in Agartala. My first company, Tripureswari Feeds and Private Limited started its journey in 2018 and we are receiving good production from there as well. In Agartala, my associate Jiban Das is also running a part of our unit. Apart from that, some small-scale units have also come up in Udaipur, Bishramganja and such areas which are acting as our branch units,” he added.
According to Debnath, he has been selected for a loan of Rs 1.65 crore under a subsidised government scheme. With the government’s support, Debnath plans another unit, which can produce 1 lakh eggs a day.
One thing that sets Debnath apart from other entrepreneurs is his urge to help the state’s youth. “I have a dream that the people of Tripura eat eggs produced locally. I want to tell the state’s youth to come forward and make a wise decision of investing in this sector. This way, we shall not only cut short our dependence on other states but we can even ensure that quality eggs are served in each of the platters of Tripura,” Debnath pointed out.
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