MD ASADUZ ZAMAN

It was once seen that only low-income and uneducated groups of people were involved with agro-farming in Bangladesh but now, the situation has changed radically.

A number of highly educated and even foreign degree holding entrepreneurs are taking up careers in the sector, and profiting as a result.

Although agro-farming has become challenging in modern times due to higher input costs, the sector still shows promise for young businesspeople.

Wasif Ahmed Salam, who completed his BBA degree from the City University of London, has been running his own farm, called Asian Agro, since November 2016.

Most people that have an English medium background usually seek high-paying jobs while many foreign degree holders end up settling abroad.

However, the 23-year-old Salam opted to follow his passion and start a farm in Chattogram with just two cows he bought with saved pocket money.

Having initially managed the property with the help of just one employee, Salam improved his rearing techniques by watching YouTube videos on the topic.

He then sold off his cows with a good profit in just a single year.

Now, Salam’s farm has 130 cows, of which 80 are kept for dairy. In addition, the number of cattle, their specific weight and other technical data are tabulated digitally.

“While my parents motivated me, others boldly demotivated me and even went so far as to call me ‘cowman’ for entering the farming sector,” said Salam.

“But when my farm finally became a success, they started to welcome me,” he added.

Salam then said that during his time as a student, being able to gain field-level experience provided him with practical knowledge on farming.

Similarly, Touhid Parvez Biplob took charge of his family’s flour mill in Bogura after returning with a master’s degree in international business from the Auckland Institute of Studies in New Zealand.

He also built a small shed on the property to rear six cows and bulls due to his childhood fascination with cattle farming.

Biplob later opted to go commercial with the business in 2017 and now has 190 bulls and dairy cows and other cattle at his ranch, called the Bogra Bhander Agro Farm, in Kahaloo upazila.

He also started a value-added product business, called Methai Mela, that uses milk from his farm to make sweets.

“I used to sell milk for Tk 40-50 per litre, but that was not profitable for me. So, I planned to launch a new venture of value-added products,” Biplob said.

He went on to say it was at first difficult to convince his family that cattle farming holds more potential than other careers despite his educational background.

“But their minds changed gradually after seeing my success,” he said.

However, Biplob would not encourage anyone to take up the business unless they have passion for it.

“They should work for at least three weeks at other farms before starting their own venture,” he added.

Biplob also advised that young entrepreneurs looking to learn more about the cattle business should hold off on making any sizeable commitments from the get-go.

Instead, they should gather knowledge and expertise, Biplob said at a two-day livestock exhibition in Dhaka’s Agargaon last week.

More than 250 entrepreneurs from all over the country had brought their cattle to the fair that featured various species, such as cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep, ostriches, pigeons, dogs, cats, horses, rabbits and poultry.

Asked about the recent challenges of cattle farming considering the higher cost of labour and feed, Biplob said that it would not have been possible to sustain the business amid the current situation if not for the sales of his value-added products.

After completing his graduation from the state-run Ashek Mahmud College Hamid Sarker founded Swadesh Agro in Jamalpur. Along with rearing cattle, he caters value-added products, namely sweets.

Imran Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Dairy Farmers Association, said that the trend of youths returning to the farming sector is a good sign.

“We presented successful entrepreneurs at the exhibition so that others were excited to see them,” he added.

Md Reajul Huq, director of admin at the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), said the country is moving towards the scientific commercialisation of livestock farming.

“To sustain the business in the modern age, educated youths are participating more and this is a good sign,” he added.

Huq then said farming processes have been changing for years and it is now time for adopting good agricultural practices.

So, this sector is totally fit for educated youths, he added.

The country currently has 87,486 commercial poultry farms and 72,176 dairy and cattle fattening farms, according to the DLS.

However, there are some 2.78 lakh non-registered dairy and cattle fattening farms and 8.68 lakh poultry farms across the country.

Huq went on to say that the government is trying to attract and train up more educated entrepreneurs for the farming sector.