Bangladesh is now the fastest economic country among the developing state of the world. We have already fulfilled the requirement of crops against country's demand. Now Bangladesh is saturated in crop production.
This has to be possible because of some dynamic decision. BARI, BINA, BADC and so many research institutes are working like a web to achieve the target crop production. Now we are saturated in crop production.
At the same time, what is the real scenario of livestock production? Why livestock production has lag behind? Meat, milk and egg are three basic components to fulfill the requirement of protein in human being. How much amount we get these against our requirements? What about the quality of these product (milk, meat and egg)?
The main reason of this scenario lies in the policy. Lack of manpower of this department is an important reason. 'Proper person in proper palace' is not followed in the recruitment policy. Extension service is not working all over the country efficiently like crop extension due to lack of manpower.
Knowledge of farmers about safe production is very low. Now a day small scale poultry farming is available at every village almost but they don't have proper training. As a result antibiotics use has increased unnecessarily as well withdrawal period has also not maintained. The consumer gets meat, milk and egg with antibiotics. This is alarming.
Now in livestock sector, we are facing two challenges. One is to increase the production of meat, milk and eggs. Another is very important to maintain the quality of these products I mean safe production. As the fastest growing country, it is essential to ensure the nutritional safely to the citizens. Without meat, milk and egg it is really impossible and our economy still not too strong to import all these things to feed the mass people.
Now this is the high time to make policy to boost up the production of milk, meat and egg. In a statistics, it has been shown that, there's a correlation between the highest noble prize owners country and the highest per capita consumption of milk. To make a healthy and intelligent nation, animal protein availability is essential.
What kind of step will help to change this scenario? High concentration from the Govt. and some dynamic decision as well as their rapid implementation only might be the option to ensure nutritional safety. Govt. Should take initiative to establish Sheep and Goat Research Institute, Poultry and indigenous fowl Research Institute, Dairy Development Board, Disease Diagnosis and Vaccine Research Institute along with the development of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI).
BLRI could play a major role to do research on buffalo production, animal waste management and other large ruminant research and their breed development. I already told that some dynamic decision should be taken. Zero tolerance in corruption as well as recruitment process could bring some positive results in the development of livestock.
Department of livestock services could not play their extension services among the rural areas of Bangladesh successfully. To solve this issue, experts assumed that only two Directory
1. Department of Livestock Production (All the production related work such as animal nutrition, safe milk, meat, egg production and extension services such as Artificial Insemination, Embryo production and transfer, any kind of modern technology transfer) and
2. Department of Livestock Diseases and Investigations (Diseases and their treatment related work, Microbiology, Theriogenology and different operation and investigation of contagious, epidemic and rare diseases) could solve the existing problem of Govt. Recruitment through BCS. Then the existing complexity could be resolved.
Hope the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will take initiative to boost up the safe production of livestock and poultry and ensure the nutritional security and safety by taking kind of dynamic decision and implementation during her reign.
One thing here I want to address is today or tomorrow we must have to think this issue seriously if we see us in a developed country in near future. The matter is sooner or later. All this depends on our policy maker. Hope soon that day will come when every people under the same umbrella of nutritional security and safety.
The writer is a Lecturer, Department of
Animal Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh
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