Only a few days are left before, Eid-ul-Adha. With this Eid in mind, 68,311 cattle have been prepared for sale in Moulvibazar.
There are two and a half thousand cattle farms in seven upazilas of the district. In these farms cattle including cows, buffalos, sheep and goats are reared. Local livestock farm workers say that 100% of the cattle there are fattened with only natural food.
A businessman of Rajnagar Upazila of Moulvibazar Nurul Islam Babar said he started his cattle farm with only four cows but, now his farm capital has crossed Tk one crore and there are 37 cows of different breeds at his farm now.
He said on last Wednesday, a cow of Holstein-Friesian breed gave birth to two calves at the same time. His cows are ready for sale in the Eid-ul-Adha sacrificial cattle markets. He added that he has gained such success by investing more than half a crore taka and with the cooperation with the Department of Livestock.
In a survey conducted by local office of the Department of Livestock it has been found that, as many expatriates are unable to come to their homes for the Eid due to the spread of corona virus infection the demand for cattle will be lesser this year. As much as there is demand, it will be met by local cattle.
According to the District Animal Resources Office, 68,311 sacrificial animals have been kept in stock across the disrtrict ahead of the upcoming Eid-ul-Adha. There are 2,365 cattle farmers in Moulvibazar. The number of cows and buffaloes in these farms is 47,252 and the number of goats is 21,059.
Farmer Wadud Ahmed says, “I have 25 cows on my farm now. I have been farming cattle for the last 5 years. I have not sold yet a single cow of my farm. There are 4 people regularly working on the farm. I am fattening the cows by feeding them well in a completely natural way and through proper care instead of using drugs. So, there is a good demand for these cows”.
According to District Animal Resources Officer Mohammad Abdus Samad, we are all worried about the current situation in Corona. A total of 12 online platforms, including 9 govt and 3 private ones, have been already set up in the district for cattle trade.
He said, “The best thing I found visiting various farms in the district that farmers are not fattening the animals artificially. Regular monitoring is being done to prevent artificial fattening of the cows. In the last few days, 550 selected farms have been given training on cattle farming”.
He further said that since the cows of the district are not fattened in an artificial way, the cows in these farms have become popular among the buyers.