Duck farming has become popular in Netrokona haor
-
-
|

Photo: Collected
The youth of the haor are becoming interested in duck farming due to the availability of sufficient free space at low cost. Along with paddy and fish, duck farming has become popular in the haor area of Netrokona as an alternative profession. They are getting rent-free open water bodies by eating natural food. On the one hand, this is creating employment and meeting the demand for protein and meat. The district Livestock Officer officer said that training is being given to the unemployed to make them more interested, and cooperation from local NGOs is also needed.
Abdul Mannan, an educated youth from Jangal Tenganga village of Madan police station has become successful in duck farming. Seeing him, many educated unemployed people in the upazila have been encouraged to raise ducks, all of whom have seen the face of success. Unemployed youth are also getting involved in duck farming and earning income from multiple sectors.
Abdul Mannan told Barta24.com that although the profit is less in the dry season, the profit is much higher in the rainy season due to the natural food available in the haor. The annual cost of raising 5,000 ducks is two to Tk. two and a half lakh. At the end of the year, only the egg factory brings in Tk. five to six lakh.
Ducks are being raised in a natural environment in the haor. Various types of farms, including small and medium, are constantly being built. Farmers in this region are benefiting financially by farming as an additional income. There is a variety of natural diversity in the haor. And with this opportunity, ducks are being raised using vast land effortlessly until the rainy season. The cost of feeding ducks is also saved a lot during the harvest in the month of Baishakh. That is why duck farming is now more popular in the haor areas of the district, Madan-Mohanganj-Khaliajuri.
Many people are now self-sufficient by farming ducks in the low-lying areas of every upazila of the district. Duck farming is common in almost all households in these regions to meet their food needs. On top of that, many have taken it up commercially because it is more profitable and requires less manual labor. In addition to providing employment, it also provides protein and meat locally.
Meanwhile, District Livestock Officer Officer Dr. Mohammad Shahidullah told Barta24.com that people in the haor area are now very interested in starting a duck farm. The youth are benefiting from duck farming. Ducks basically grow up eating the natural food of the haor. They may have to be fed for two to three months of the year. The rest of the time, ducks eat natural food. Since it is less expensive and the demand for duck meat and eggs is increasing day by day, unemployed youth are becoming interested in raising ducks.
There are about 6,000 commercial farmers in the district. In addition, there is no calculation for small-scale or home-raised ducks. Meanwhile, eggs and meat are also meeting the demand for protein.
He also said that efforts are being made to improve farmers through training. However, if this resource is utilized privately, this region can develop economically further.
According to the District Livestock Office, in Netrokona district, the target for egg, meat, and milk production in the 2023-2024 fiscal year was 53 crore eggs, with production reaching 53.80 crore . The demand for meat production was 1.73 lakh metric tons, with production reaching 1.80 lakh metric tons. The target for milk production was 2.80 lakh metric tons, with production reaching 2.90 lakh metric tons.