Rajshahi: Proper marketing channels can be a crucial means of encouraging dairy farmers in the region, including its vast Barind tract, to venture more. In nature and practice since immemorial times, the region is enriched with dairy farming along with other rearing and fattening cattle, goats, and poultry birds as the grassroots people are still more or less dependent on those for their livelihood. Eventually, over a couple of decades, commercial dairy farming increased side by side with domestic ones to a greater extent amid the gradually mounting demands for animal proteins. Marginal and medium dairy farmers need proper milk marketing scope to make their business profitable and sustainable together with boosting the dairy sector.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Prof Jalal Uddin Sarder of the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences at Rajshahi University emphasized the urgent need to establish marketing points for milk so that dairy farmers can sell their products easily. He noted that many farmers have become disheartened, failing to sell milk on time and eventually abandoning their businesses. Prof Sarder suggested that boosting milk production and its consumption is very effective in eradicating malnutrition, which can stem the spread of corona. Additionally, the livestock sector contributes significantly to enriching soil nutrients, which are declining due to the indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers and harmful pesticides. He highlighted that producing large amounts of meat through indigenous beef cattle improvement could supply low-cost meat for people, ultimately protecting them from malnutrition.
Golam Rahid, a dairy farmer from the Assam Colony area in the city, expressed the challenges he faces in the dairy business. Despite dairy farming becoming essential to fulfill protein demands, the business has become expensive due to the rising prices of cow’s feed items, medicines, and other requisite inputs. Many frustrated farmers have closed their businesses due to financial hardships, leaving their cow sheds and other infrastructures unused. Rahid reported struggling with selling his regular milk production due to the lack of marketing facilities, which led to significant financial losses. He began his business in 1990 with a cow costing Taka 10,000 and now owns 20 cows producing 120 liters of milk daily. He sells milk at locals’ doorsteps as there are no specific selling points in the city.
Artificial insemination of cows is gaining popularity in the region, significantly improving the breeding system. This process has led to cows producing milk ten times more than previous records, according to Rahid. Zuber Mian, another dairy farmer, shared his experience of having to shut down his business due to various reasons, including the lack of marketing scope. Masudul Haque, a fellow farmer, recalled that there were more than 30,000 small and marginal dairy farms in the region around 20 years ago, but the number has significantly reduced. However, he noted the region’s potential to address the existing protein deficiency of the local population by boosting the sector.
Dr Atwar Rahman, district livestock officer, reported that 617 dairy farms have around 1.5 cows in the district, with annual milk production at approximately 2.65 lakh tonnes. However, he noted that the number of dairy farms isn’t increasing due to inadequate marketing scope.