Poultry boon for Hosne Ara

A few days back I went to Uttar Choukirpar in Natore to meet a successful woman entrepreneur who together with her son has done miracles in poultry. The woman started poultry farming 18 years back to bring back good times for her family with only 10 ‘Sonali’ variety of chicken. With hard work now she has 5,000 parent stock of Sonali breed. Her poultry farm is named after her son, Nesar Ahmed Jeeshan, ‘Jeeshan Poultry Hatchery’. Hosne Ara and Jeeshan are now operating all the works of the farm together. They’re both producing poultry chicks with modern hatchery system, which has made it quite successful. The most important thing is they have spread the message of success among the ultra-poor women who now have a hope in life.

A significant amount of the country’s animal protein is met by poultry. It is undoubtedly true that the sector still survives facing so many obstacles. Although, poultry farmers have many complaints, some are still working well and standing firm in this sector. Mrs Hosne Ara is one of those rare people. But, it is not only hard work that has made this possible. It is also strategies that she and her son took to get the best outcome. While I was roaming around Hosne Ara’s farm, it remind me of the 80s, especially of poultry success by another woman, Mrs Zaman. Many of you would probably recall her great deeds in the sector when I featured her on Bangladesh Television’s Mati O Manush (Soil & People) back then. What I can tell you about Hosne Ara is, she’s a simple homemaker with an extraordinary ambition that eventually helped her entire family.

“How was it when you first started your farm,” I asked Hosne Ara.

“The poverty was terrible. My son brought me 10 Sonali chicken and said why don’t we start it together?” she replied with a happy smile on her face.

“I didn’t know we would work so well and made it even better gradually,” she added.

“Did you get any loans from the bank?” I asked.

“Yes, an amount of Tk 50,000 (USD 592) from the Krishi Bank, when they saw the prospect,” she replied.

Now, as I said earlier, Hosne Ara has 5,000 parent stock of Sonali chicken under big poultry shades and she’s producing 3,600 eggs on an average. She can also produce around 94,000 layer chicks.

“I have a capacity of producing 1,00,000 poultry chicks,” she told me.

“In the past, we only had incubators made of wood and those were very difficult to work with. But now we have ultra-modern Chinese incubators,” she added.

Dear readers, Bangladesh’s poultry sector is moving onward to export eggs and poultry meat by 2024 and nearly closing the gap between the domestic demand with a growing supply of both eggs and meat. It’s also true that the poultry farms are growing at a faster rate of 15 percent a year. These great stories of the growth of Bangladesh’s poultry sector were reported and prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The poultry sector supplies 36 percent of total protein intake through meat and egg consumption. Yearly, 95 eggs are eaten per capita, while consumption of chicken stands at 6.5kg, says USDA. The report also says, the sector having Tk 35,000 crore (Nearly USD 4.15 billion) investments is expected to double in the next decade. The March 20, 2019, report also says its export market is principally the Middle East. It adds, the country will require 17 billion eggs, 2 million tonnes of poultry meat, 85.8 million day-old chicks and 7.9 million tonnes of feed to meet the demand by 2021. Against the current annual demand of 17.13 billion eggs, the country is producing 15.52 billion, according to Department of Livestock (DLS).

Let’s go back to Mrs Hosne Ara’s farm. She has Chinese and Indian incubators at her farm. The hatchery is in full swing here. It’s a great commercial farm that shows the prospect for even further success.

“What is your monthly profit amount,” I asked Hosne Ara.

“On an average, excluding all costs, it’s nearly Tk 7,00,000 (USD 8,297),” she replied.

‘Jeeshan Poultry Hatchery’ clearly identified the exact demand and set a strategy to deliver eggs and poultry chicks. This is how they’ve been working for the last 18 years with the right strategy always top on their checklist. As they have understood the market pretty well, they didn’t have to suffer for loss. The man behind all these right plans are dealt by her son Jeeshan. He has worked hand in hand with her mother to make this farm a big one.

“So, you’re the strategy-guy, what’s your investment planning,” I asked Jeeshan.

“It’s very important to invest in poultry,” he replied.

“And how do you exactly see it,” I asked him again.

“The key part is we have 18 years of experience and prediction to go for egg and poultry chick production,” he added.

“Explain more,” I requested.

“We just can invest any time. We need to know when the market certainly has a demand for eggs and poultry chicks. We always need to keep a check on the market and that’s the main area of our concentration,” explains Jeeshan.

“And, what about the hatchery,” I asked.

“If the market isn’t going well, we reduce production. No one should just start a hatchery just because they have money. They need to understand the market first and then invest,” wisely adds Jeeshan.

Jeeshan is hugely committed to this farm because his mother has titled this farm after his name. It gives even more responsibility, he says. That’s why he goes deep into the analysis and always comes up with a good solution.

In the village, Mrs Hosne Ara has inspired many unemployed youths, especially the ultra-poor women to start their poultry farms. I talked with some of the woman entrepreneurs.

“How many chickens you have in your farm?” I asked.

“I have 50 of them and I was inspired by Hosne Ara,”she replied.

“How did you come to poultry farming?” I asked another woman.

“I was motivated by Hosne Ara,” she replied.

“I just started my farm and hope to make money in a short time,” says a beginner.

Dear readers, worldwide, there will be 35 percent more demand for animal protein in the next 20 years. Poultry will see the largest increase, about two percent, while expansion for eggs will be 1.6 percent. The cost of poultry production varies significantly from region to region. Hosne Ara is the change maker according to every one of the village. She wants to go further and wants to see all the women in her village self-sufficient. Agricultural success depends on labour, strategy and honesty. Indeed, success doesn’t come in a day. It takes a long time to reach the peak and to reach the highest level one must have patience. Hosne Ara has all these qualities and that’s the story of her success. Additionally, she has great support from her son who’s much capable and has great understanding and knowledge on the poultry sector. Hosne Ara’s farm is a great example for any poultry entrepreneur in the country and those who are still thinking about how to prosper in this sector can follow Hosne Ara’s significant work.