Nightmare of cattle farmers
Cattle rearing has become difficult in the district as the grazing fields are turning into shrimp enclosures and homesteads.
Cattle farmer Tandra Shikder of Mohischarani in Morrelganj upazila said he has to sell all his three cows as it is difficult to feed them in the field.
Three years ago, the grazing fields were covered with green grass which have turned into shrimp enclosures.
''We could collect some grass from the dyke of the shrimp enclosures, which was not sufficient. Now, the owners cultivate vegetables on the dyke and we do not get any grass from there, '' said Tandra.
Another farmer Dibakor Bhattachariya of Joygachi village in Sadar upazila said, ''I had eight cows but, now I have only two. I had to sell them due to shortage of fodder.''
''It is very costly to rear the cows only with straw. The straw is not available also,'' he added.
Mujibur Rahman of the area said he had 10 cows. He earned much by selling milk. But, as there are no grazing fields and the rearing cost is higher than the output of milk, he had to sell the cows.
Resident of Sangdia village Keya Chowdury, mother of a four-year-old kid, said, ''I am not getting sufficient milk for my baby as no one wants to rear cows. Most of the people, who had the cows, have already sold them.''
District Livestock Officer Dr Saifuzzaman Khan said there are 3,12,000 cows in the district. The farmers mainly cultivate shrimp here instead of paddy. So, the production of grass and straw is decreasing continuously.
He suggested that the cattle owners can cultivate Napier grass and maize to meet the fodder crisis.
Additional Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension in Bagerhat Birendra Nath Majumder said, “Our arable land has decreased. We are trying our best to stop reduction of cultivable land.”
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