Barisal duck farm abandoned for 5yrs

The structures, equipment, and land worth Tk 40 crore of the state-run duck breeding farm at Barisal city's Goriar Par has been abandoned for the last five years.

The premises of the Regional Duck Breeding Farm under the Department of Livestock Services has been reduced to a grazing field for cattle.

The farm was built in 2006 on four acres of land at the cost of Tk 40 crore under a three-year project titled “Establishment of regional duck breeding farm along with hatchery project.” After the completion of the project in 2009, the government did not undertake any new project to keep the farm in operation, eventually leading its abandonment, said Samaresh Biswas, animal production officer of Dairy and Cattle Development Farm at the district office, who is also the officer-in-charge of the duck farm.

It was fully equipped with modern amenities to breed an average of 24,000 ducks and rear the ducklings per month.

Visiting the spot, this correspondent found all three incubators and three hatcheries completely damaged. The two ponds inside the compound have become too polluted for use now.

The three-storey administrative building, which housed a training centre, a dormitory, and 10 brooding sheds remain useless. A generator and two air conditioners are on the verge of getting out of order with the electricity line disconnected two years ago due to arrears, said Samaresh.

A pickup which was used for the farm is now being operated for the poultry section of the department's regional office, he said. Of the total eight such farms across the country, only Barisal's has been left in this condition, said Samaresh.

When asked about restart of the farm, Kalipada Sarker, director (production) of the department's headquarters in Dhaka, told this correspondent by phone that on information from the regional office, they sent a proposal to the planning ministry four months back. But there is no response yet, he added.