Golam Maula, a dairy farmer from Godagari upazila of Rajshahi, owns 250 cows. Of these, 60 cows give milk. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, he would get about 300 kg of milk a day. Since the outbreak of coronavirus in the country, the demand for milk dropped significantly. Milk production of his farm decreased to 30 to 40 kg. The local retailers stopped buying milk from him. So, a large amount of milk remained unsold every day.
Like Maula, the milk producers all around the country are affected by coronavirus.
The COVID-19 epidemic has had a serious negative impact not only on the health sector in the country, but also on every sphere of life. The dairy industry is also struggling due to the novel oronavirus. Following the outbreak of the novel virus on 8 March, the government imposed a general holiday restricting people's movement to contain the spread of the viral disease. The lockdown impacted the agricultural sector badly.
To make an assessment of the current situation of the livestock market, Shomoshti, a project run by Care Bangladesh, commissioned a phone-based survey on 72 entrepreneurs and 100 farmers from 7 districts in the livestock sector using a structured questionnaires between 16 and 20 April
The study found that as high as 90 per cent retailers’ sales reduced while 74 per cent farmer’s income decreased due to a result of the coronavirus outbreak.
“Around 50 per cent milk remains unsold all over the country and 45 per cent of the milk sold at a reduced price. The estimated loss would be around Tk 189 million per day all over the country,” it stated.
Considering the lockdown situation in the country and economic downturn, it predicted that if the situation continues for the next 90 days, the loss would be huge and create a shortage of protein in the market.
“Nearly one third of the respondents have no savings to recover from the crisis. About 64 per cent retailers, 43 per cent farmers and 39 per cent paravets have loans from either banks or MFI,” it added.
Half of the respondents reported increased expenditure at household level. Among them, 65 per cent used their savings, 33 per cent has reduced food intake, 21 per cent took loans to meet managing household expenses.
The study results also showed that about 61 per cent respondents perceived an increased workload of women in the households. Most of the women have to spend more time in food preparation, washing clothes and taking care of family members. About 28 per cent respondents indicated that they found an increased trend of domestic violence in their community.
Major respondents (80pc) wanted cash support and loans with easy terms and conditions. Respondents (30pc) also recommended free food supply for the poor to ensure staying at home during lockdown.
“Small farmers in Bangladesh have been contributing a lot to the country's nutritional needs through the production of cow's milk. But at least 4 million litres of milk remains unsold every day due to the a halt in the supply system caused by COVID-19,” Prabodh Devkota, Care Bangladesh’s deputy country director told Prothom Alo.
He also said, “On the occasion of World Dairy Day, Care Bangladesh expects that the government will provide direct financial incentives for the protection of small dairy farmers in the next budget. At the same time, old should be loan waived, new loans given on easy terms, and easy loan assistance provided to young entrepreneurs.
The whole world is now almost paralysed by coronavirus. If this situation is prolonged, a food crisis will start in the country. The most pressing need at the moment is in the agricultural sector including livestock sector.
Livestock ministry’s additional secretary Kazi Wasi Uddin said, “We have organised the farmers. Large milk buyers have been requested to buy milk. There is also an emphasis on home delivery of milk. Dairy farmers are also being encouraged by the government.”
“They will get a assistance in July-August. Besides, we have also issued a letter to Bangladesh Bank so that they can get a loan from the government of Tk 50 billion,” he added.