Rojmerry Soren always relied on traditional poultry practices—the only methods she knew—to support her household. Despite her hard work, she struggled with frequent disease outbreaks and high chick mortality, which limited her income and family nutrition. 

In September 2025, Rojmerry participated in Hatching Hope training through NutriHarvest—a project of HarvestPlus Solutions—in Katihar, India. The training provided hands-on, practical guidance from a project-trained Master Trainer, focusing on evidence-based poultry rearing practices. Topics included brooding management, feeding, vaccination, hygiene, and disease prevention—areas that had posed ongoing challenges for Rojmerry. 

Rojmerry began applying simple but critical practices to her farming. She started providing warmth to new chicks using a lamp in her shed, and introduced timely vaccination—particularly against Ranikhet disease, a major cause of poultry mortality. 

In follow-up interview, Rojmerry reported that chick mortality had already declined by more than 25 percent since introducing these practices. While these figures represent early trends, the change is substantial. Previously, Ranikhet outbreaks, also known as Newcastle disease, had led to mass chick deaths and undermined household income. Today, her flock is healthier and more stable.

As a result, Rojmerry has been able to sell a greater number of birds, increasing her average monthly income from approximately USD 15 to USD 27 ―an 80% increase. Beyond income gains, improved poultry survival has strengthened household nutrition by increasing access to protein-rich meat and eggs, directly benefiting her family’s diet.

Reflecting on the impact of the training, Rojmerry said, “The birds don’t die in large number now due to training practices. I used to feel very bad when our hard work would go in vain with the mortality.” 

Encouraged by her early success, Rojmerry plans to expand her flock from the current 20–25 birds to 50, effectively doubling its size, especially as she gains more confidence in marketing her birds.  HarvestPlus Solutions, through the NutriHarvest project is working with local government institutions to develop markets for poultry and discussions are underway to establish poulter farmer collectives that can undertake collective marketing of their meat and eggs.

Through targeted training and continued support, NutriHarvest is helping rural women build resilient livelihoods—one healthier flock at a time.