Saifullah Hasan, Moulvibazar
There are a plenty of water bodies and marshy lands, locally known as Haor, in Moulvibazar. Country’s largest Haor, Hakaluki is also located in this district. As a result, duck farms have become popular in different Haors of Moulvibazar including Kawadighi and Hakaluki.
There are thousands of ducks in each farm set up by the local farmers. These ducks mostly live on fishes, aquatic creatures or aquatic plants found in the Haors. Even, in the dry season, there remains enough duck feed in the shallow water of Haors, Beels, canals and rivers of the area.
Subu Mia of the area started a farm with 100 ducks some years ago. Now the number of ducks in his farm stands at 1,500. Five workers support their family by working on his farm. He informed that he earns a good profit every year from selling duck eggs.
Many people are now running duck farms in areas adjacent to Haors like Subu Mia as it is quite profitable.
However, Subu Mia said, “If the ducks stop laying eggs, we fall into financial crisis and face difficulties to pay wages to the workers. No one cooperates us on that time.”
Visiting Kawadighi Haor it was seen that a flock of thousands of duck were roaming in the middle of the wetland. Just as a shepherd runs with a herd of cows, so does the duck farm owners run with their flocks of duck.
These ducks eat fishes, aquatic creatures or algae in the shallow water of the Haor, Beel, canals and rivers. People living in the Haor area rear these ducks and make a living by selling duck eggs, ducklings and ducks.
According to Moulvibazar District Animal Resources Office, there are total 432 duck farms in the district. The total number of ducks in the farms is 7 lakh 48 thousand 5 hundred and 70.
Al Amin, a local resident said, “The taste of the duck reared in the Haor area is different from other ducks so it is highly valued in the local market. There is a lot of demand for the duck eggs as well. So, a lot of people are now running duck farms in the area as it is profitable. Wholesale buyers collect eggs from the farms and send them to different parts of the country.
Ekhlas Mia, a farmer from Hakaluki Haor, said, “I have 300 ducks in my farm. Three people including me are taking care of the ducks. We take the ducks to Haor areas during the day bring them back home in the afternoon. I sell a lot of eggs every month and my family lives on the money collected from selling the eggs”.
Shamim Ahmed, another local resident, said many more people are setting up farms after seeing the duck farms of others. In the last few years, many duck farms have been set up in Kawadighi Haor. Many local people are working and making a living by working in the duck farms. If more farms are built in the area, there will be employment opportunities for many unemployed people, he added.
Jewel Mia, a local trader said, “The demand for eggs produced in the Haor areas is much higher in the market. However, there is a crisis of these eggs all the time. If we get these eggs, we can sell them at a higher price”.
Moulvibazar District Livestock Officer Dr Md Abdus Samad said, “Moulvibazar district is full of Haors and other water bodies, so duck rearing is a potential business in the area. We always support and advise them in any issue
