Cattle farmers in dire need of support

Cyclone Remal, left over 9,000 acres of grazing land flooded and damaged across 19 cyclone-hit areas.

This led to an acute crisis of fodder for cattle in those areas, affecting at least 2.5 million livestock.

As such, cattle farmers are in dire need of support to provide fodder and medical treatment for their livestock, speakers told a programme yesterday.

They demanded compensation for the farmers and suggested waiving their loans taken from NGOs and cooperatives for cattle rearing.

A group of cattle farmers and their leaders made the plea at a press conference organised by Bangladesh Dairy Farmers' Association at the capital's CIRDAP auditorium.

"Of my 20 cattle, 15 died after falling sick. A veterinarian from Khamarbari demanded Tk 10,000 to come for providing treatment and later settled for Tk 8,000, but they arrived a day late," said Rashida Begum, a dairy farmer from Dhaka's Adabar area.

"During treatment, two more cows died. They took samples for testing but the reports are still not provided. I am feeling helpless," she added.

Jamal Hossain, another dairy farmer from Mohammadpur, echoed her.

Addressing the event, Imran Hossain, president of the association, said their cattle are getting sick due to lack of clean water, and crisis of fodder since the cyclone hit Bangladesh.

"Despite reaching out to the livestock officers at upazila and district levels, farmers are not receiving any medical assistance for their cattle," he said, adding that the officials cited transportation issues as an excuse.

"Earlier, government officials from livestock department used motorcycles to visit the farms for treatment of livestock, taking Tk 500–1,000 per visit. Now, they are using cars to make the visits and demanding Tk 3,000–10,000," Imran also said.

"The Director General of the Department of Livestock Service is not farmer-friendly. He seems more aligned with meat and powdered milk importers than with the rural farmers," Imran alleged.

Reading out a written statement, the BDFA president urged the government to provide immediate medical support and emergency cattle feed to prevent further damage to the dairy sector.

"Many grazing lands remain submerged, with grass destroyed, and it will take another month for the situation to return to normalcy. Till then, the government can supply silage at low prices to the farmer for their cattle," Imran also said.

He also called for assistance regarding construction of cattle sheds, financial incentives, and waiving of bank loans for dairy farmers.