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Dairy Farming in Rural Areas

Fair price can cut poverty

Speakers tell Prothom Alo-CARE Bangladesh roundtable

Staff Correspondent
Speakers yesterday at a roundtable opined that dairy farmers should be given fair prices for the production of milk so that they become more interested in dairy farming that could play a vital role in reducing poverty in rural areas.
The government should provide financial support to the farmers and expand veterinary services for the sector’s growth, they added.
The Bangla daily Prothom Alo in association with CARE Bangladesh organised the roundtable at the former's office in the capital.
Every day around 18 million litres of milk are produced all over the country, but only 7 percent of it is sold to milk processing companies and the rest at local markets, said Mohammad Anisur Rahman, director general of Brae Dairy and Food Project.
If the milk could be sold directly to the companies, the producers would be able to get fair prices, and more investments would be made to the sector that might contribute to reducing poverty, he hoped.
"Because of being women, we face difficulty in getting loans from banks. We should be given priority in loan schemes as we play a major role in this sector,"
said Ambia Khatun, a dairy farmer from Bogra.
She urged the authorities concerned to provide better treatment facilities to their cattle and reduce prices of feed.
Dr FH Ansarey, executive director of ACI Agribusiness Ltd, said the government needed to take strong initiative to prevent livestock illness, such as foot and mouth diseases and worm, as the milk production significantly decreases when cattle are attacked by such diseases.
Speaking as the chief guest, State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Narayon Chandra Chanda said the dairy industry was a very potential sector. So the ministries concerned needed to work together for its growth.
He also said the recommendations that came from the discussion would be discussed at inter-ministerial meetings soon.
Md Ainul Haque, director general at the Department of Livestock Services, Abdul Quayum, associate editor of Prothom Alo, Jamie Terzi, country director of CARE Bangladesh, Colam Mostafa Nantu, director of Milk Vita, Anowarul Haq, director of CARE Bangladesh's Extreme Rural Poverty Programme, and Rakibur Rahman, chief of dairy at Pran Dairy, also spoke.