Livestock sector needs policy, investment

The livestock sector can reduce poverty in the country, with proper planning and support of the government, said discussants at a roundtable.

The sector has potential to contribute to the economy in a larger scale if the government identifies the existing problems and addresses these, they said.

The sector requires a proper policy and implementation of the policy. A healthy livestock sector will also meet the people’s deficit of protein intake, they said.

The discussants also said the livestock sector is directly and indirectly connected to nine out of 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Prothom Alo, in cooperation with the livestock department of fisheries and livestock ministry of Bangladesh, organised the roundtable on the role of livestock in attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)-2030 at its office in the capital's Karwan Bazar on Monday.

Chief guest, fisheries and livestock minister Narayan Chandra Chanda MP, said he will strive to include the livestock sector as a subsector of agriculture in government policies so that the animal farmers can avail all the advantages, including the tax benefits given to the agriculture sector.

“Small poultry and cattle farmers in the villages require secured investment as they produce the largest volume of animal protein and milk,” the minister said.

“We are living in an open market economy. That doesn’t mean we will destroy the local market for our producers with imports,” the minister said.

Planning commission senior secretary (general economics division) Shamsul Alam said Bangladesh has developed significantly, but is yet to produce sufficient milk, meat and eggs to totally meet the requirements of the people.

He also pointed out the necessity of insurance coverage for the livestock businessmen.

Shamsul Alam emphasised the need for regulations on the use of antibiotics for livestock since its improper use had a detrimental impact on public health.

Several other speakers at the roundtable echoed the concern of the senior secretary regarding the use of antibiotics in livestock rearing and its effect on human health.

Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) director general Talukder Nurun Nahar stressed the need for research to developing local livestock with high yield of meat, milk and egg.

Mentioning that the improper use of antibiotics can have dangerous effects on the ecology, director of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Meerjady Sabrina Flora called for concerted research efforts to solve the problems of the livestock sector.

Fisheries and livestock ministry joint secretary Kamruzzaman, livestock services department director general Md Ainul Haque, Dhaka University’s nutrition and food science institute director professor Nazma Shaheen, Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) research fellow Taufiqul Islam Khan, Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) chairman Mohammad Mahfuzul Hoque, FBCCI director and also director-in-charge of FBCCI standing committee relating to fisheries and livestock ministry Md Abu Naser, Emergency Centre for Transboundary Animal Diseases (ECTAD) senior technical adviser Nitish Chandra Debnath, World's Poultry Science Association Bangladesh Branch (WPSA-BB) president  Shamsul Arefin Khaled, Paragon Poultry managing director Moshiur Rahman, Acme Laboratories Ltd additional deputy managing director Hasibur Rahman, poultry industries association president Manjur Morshed and SOJAG chief executive officer Abdul Matin, also addressed the roundtable.