Fisheries and Livestock
Hours of tailbacks are delaying arrivals of cattle in city markets, pushing up prices
Markets for sacrificial animals officially opened in the capital city on Saturday, but their arrivals are very slow as huge tailbacks on highways and ferry terminals stranded hundreds of cattle-carrying trucks for hours.
The delayed arrivals may cause a shortage of cattle in the markets and push the prices up at the last moment, said traders talking to the UNB correspondent.
Over 500 trucks carrying cattle and goods were found waiting for five to 10 hours to cross River Padma due to heavy traffic at Banglabazar-Shimulia route, according to UNB local correspondent on Saturday afternoon.
Though trucks from various districts in the south are waiting to cross, cattle traders have complained that more private vehicles are getting priority to board the ferries.
Read: Atiqul warns stern legal action for Covid rule violation in cattle markets
The long agonising wait on board the trucks in intense heat is making many animals sick.
Traders reported the death of 25 cattle because of their being stranded on not-too-comfortable trucks amid hot sun and occasional rains.
The traders said it is taking 10 to 12 hours to get a ferry to cross the river which is time-consuming and making the cattle sick.
3 years ago
Razzaque predicts possible surplus in fish, meat, and eggs 'in 3-5 years'
Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque has said that Bangladesh will have surplus production of fish, egg, meat and milk in the space of the next 3-5 years.
He said, "One of the main challenges of the current government is to ensure nutritious food to all.We recognise that the fisheries and livestock sector can play a vital role in that."
"We are gradually becoming self-reliant in food for the steps taken by the government in the last few years. Not only that, if we keep up the good work, we might have surplus productions of fish, milk, meat and egg in the next 3-5 years," the minister hoped.
Also read: Govt to procure 5-6 lakh metric tonnes of rice to reduce shortage: Razzaque
He came up with the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a virtual discussion meeting organized by Bangabandhu Veterinary Council on the occasion of World Veterinary Day 2021 on Saturday.
Addressing the veterinarians, the agriculture minister said the sector needs to be taken further through technology expansion and entrepreneurship. He also advised them to work hard in ensuring nutritious and safe food for all.
Dr. Razzaque added that in order to ensure nutritious food, people's incomes must be increased and employment must be created. Otherwise, even if enough food is produced, people will not be able to buy and enjoy it.
Also read: Will take initiative to harness potential of mushrooms: Razzaque
The minister also emphasised on the importance of agriculture in alleviating poverty at the event.
"The government is working tirelessly to bring down the poverty rate to 12% and extremely poor to 5%......The fisheries and livestock sector can play a huge part in that," he concluded.
3 years ago
No sacrificial animal import this year: Minister
Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim on Thursday said the government won’t allow import of sacrificial animals on the occasion of Eid-ul-Azha.
“Under no circumstance, it will allow bringing cattle from abroad this year,” he said while addressing an online meeting on ensuring the supply and sale of healthy cattle at ‘Haats’.
The minister noted that the government will take all necessary measures to ensure the animal sacrifice in a healthy manner.
“With a view to protect the environment, all necessary arrangements will be made for marketing and selling of sacrificial animals in a healthy way during Eid-ul-Azha,” the minister said.
He cautioned all to abide by health guidelines at cattle markets and urged to discharge own duties with responsibility and ethics.
Recalling previous experience, Minister Rezaul said, “We want no incident of extortion to happen this year. If animals are sold from farms, the lessee won’t be allowed to collect tolls from there. ”
He also assured that there is an adequate supply of sacrificial animals.
According to the Department of Livestock Services, there is a stock of around 1.18 crore of sacrificial animals this year, he said.
The Minister mentioned that 1200 medical teams will work at the cattle markets to prevent sale of sick cattle and monitoring teams will be formed in coordination with the officials of the ministry.
He also revealed that the authorities are trying to focus on arranging online markets due tpo the coronavirus situation.
Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Raunak Mahmud, Additional Secretary Kazi Washi Uddin, Director General of the Department of Livestock Services Dr Abdul Jabbar Sikder, among others, participated in the occasion.
4 years ago