Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim on Sunday said 55,000 poor families have benefited from the Integrated Livestock Development Project in the country's coastal char areas.
"Ensuring nutrition for and improving the lifestyle of the poor people living in the coastal areas was one of the goals of the Integrated Livestock Development Project. The project has shown a good success in ensuring nutrition and improving living standards of poor families," he said.
The minister said these while addressing the closing ceremony of a workshop organized by the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) on the Integrated Livestock Development Project at a city hotel in the morning, said a press release.
The DLS is implementing the project in the coastal char areas across the country, it said.
Noting that another goal of this project was to eliminate the discrimination between men and women by making women financially self-reliant, Rezaul said if women can be successful as entrepreneurs, the discrimination between men and women in the social system will be overcome.
"In this context, the project has been able to create successful women entrepreneurs. Besides, the project has played a role in increasing the production of eggs and meat by establishing small farms of chickens, ducks and sheep," he added.
Mentioning that the implementation of the project has largely been successful in attaining its goals, the minister said creating trained up entrepreneurs has started during the project, which will be able to play a role in the livestock sector even after the project ends.
Secretary of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry DrNahid Rashid spoke at the event as the special guest with DLS Director General DrMdEmdadulHaqueTalukder in the chair.
Additional Secretaries of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry Nripendra Chandra Debnath and ATM Mostafa Kamal spoke at the function as the guest of honor while Additional Secretary of the ministry MdTofazzel Hossain delivered the welcome address.
Project Director Dr SM ZiaulHaqueRahat presented at the workshop the project activities implemented between July 2018 and June 2023 in the coastal char areas of 109 unions under 20 upazilas in eight coastal districts- Cox's Bazar, Noakhali, Feni, Laxmipur, Bhola, Barguna, Patuakhali and Pirojpur - at a cost of around Taka 154.43 crore.
Senior officials of the Fisheries and Livestock Ministry and the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) attended the workshop.
