Poultry sector is one of the important industries in Bangladesh in terms of employment and source of protein supply at the cheaper price for the nation. In Bangladesh, commercial poultry production has been growing rapidly since early 1990s by using improved genetics, quality feeds and management.

To reduce the blame for unemployment, many unemployed young have become entrepreneurs in the poultry sector as an alternative income source by producing chicken meats and eggs instead of finding a job in the crucial job market. At present, a large amount of animal protein has been supplied from this sector which credit has to be provided to the only marginal poultry farmers of poultry sector. Nobody thinks that how would protein demand be filled up other than this sector as an overpopulated country?

Now, we can buy chicken meats and eggs at the nominal price as opposed to we are to buy beef at Tk. 500/kg and mutton at Tk. 750/kg due to lack of enough commercial cattle productions which is impossible to afford by the citizens of marginal income. We should not disagree that if poultry farmers have not come to improve the poultry sector, the nation had to suffer for protein deficiency. So, we can say, poultry sector has become an integral part of the public health in our country for the supplying huge amount of protein at an affordable price but we don't observe any mentionable support to the poultry sector by the Government.

Seemingly, the Government is very busy to support garments sector only providing subsidy and others facilities because garments sector has a strong business association and large amount of manpower to protest against Government. I am agreed that garments sector is playing a vital role in our economy in terms of export and employment. But without the development of poultry sector, garments sector will not survive. Workers of garments sector fully depend on the chicken meats and eggs as the main protein source by their marginal income.

In absence of commercial chicken meats and eggs, workers of garments sector have to depend on cattle meats or domestic chicken meat and eggs to fill up their essential protein demand which cannot be afforded after paying their house rent and others by the wages of garments workers. That's why they have to leave from urban/ garments area or wages have to be provided about double by the garments industries. So, The Government should provide mentionable support to poultry sector as like as garments sector.

The poultry industry was affected by the bird flu 2007 and 2009 in epidemic size. Many farmers had closed their farms due to capital shortage. In spite of this, in that time, we did not observe any government support to keep the existence of the loser poultry farmers. Subsequently, many new farmers have come to the poultry business, though sometimes they have faced many types of poultry related dieses in small-scale and day to day this industry is improving. Poultry farmers can improve their production easily using quality feed, capital support from feed mill industries -- supplying feed in credit and technical support by feed mill etc. Once upon a time, Government declared loan under EEF unit of Bangladesh Bank to poultry farms at zero rated interest but that facility could not be taken by the actual poultry farmers due to harsh formalities of Bangladesh Bank.

We also observed that sometimes poultry farmers face "Day Old Chick (DOC)" shortage. It may be for less production by poultry hatcheries or may be creating the artificial crisis by the syndicate to raise the price of DOC. Recently, some feed mill owners have gone to produce chicken meats and eggs commercially in large scale. They produce a huge that's why price often fall drastically below production cost. Such type of feed mill owners cum commercial producers of chicken meats and eggs can afford the low price of chicken and eggs because they buy their necessary feeds for feeding their chicks from their allied/ sister concerns as well as they have financial solvency as they are industrialist. But marginal poultry farmers cannot afford the price below production cost.

Sometimes poultry feed price has been increased due to increase soybean extraction price and others. Mentioned that soybean extraction is one of the main raw materials of poultry feed and every so often its price has been raised extremely. Feed Mills of the country mostly depends on the two business giants (Meghna and City) for soybean extraction and they increase their soybean extraction price as per their willingness. It may be the price change of international market, or may be intentional or may be for syndication. There is no mentionable regulatory control on them.

The Government should increase their surveillance on unusual price change of DOC, chicken meats, eggs and Soybean extraction as one of the main feed ingredients to keep existence of marginal poultry sector. Otherwise, they have to bind to close their business resulting a number of unemployment will be increased in the country and the nation may fall in the protein deficiency. After all, its impact will not be better for the nation.

আমার এ লেখাটি গত মার্চ ৩১, ২০১৮ খ্রিঃ তারিখে The Daily Observer পত্রিকায় প্রকাশিত।