http://www.thebangladeshtoday.com/archive/January%2009/19-1-2009.htm#national
Animal husbandry can boost economy in char areas in Rangpur
BSS, Rangpur
The socio-economic condition of the downtrodden char people living on the river basins in greater Rangpur can be changed through proper exploration of the huge prospects prevailing there in animal husbandry sector.
Many people living in the sandy char lands in the Brahmaputra, Dharla and Teesta basins in greater Rangpur have been changing their fates successfully through animal husbandry despite a lot of hurdles in their efforts, char people said.
Rangpur-Dinajpur Rural Service (RDRS) under the government’s Char Livelihood Project (CLP), Grameen Pisciculture and Livestock Foundation, BRAC and some other NGOs are now playing important roles to promote the sector in these char areas.
Experts said increased attention of the government and its concerned departments could accelerate boost the sector to eradicate poverty and monga once for all from the poverty-prone char areas.
Many of the char people have already achieved notable successes in recent years and are living in better conditions with newer hopes for their next generations, experts and char people said.
Some of them have achieved complete self- reliance through rearing cows, goats, sheep and poultry birds though they struggled for survivals and depended mainly on relief goods during the annual lean periods and floods for decades together. The char people alleged that most of the NGO operators could bring no changes in the char economy by their activities, including micro- credits during the last 37 years though a revolutionary change could be brought there through only animal husbandry.
“To change out fates, we started our own journey through exploring the huge prospects of animal husbandry in char areas, achieved successes and hoping for more successes if the prevailing prospects were properly explored,” they said.
Earlier, the char people could grow almost nothing except some vegetables in the sandy-chars, but are now expanding animal husbandry on commercial basis and the sector is boosting fast.
They are also cultivating various crops like maize, wheat, tobacco, water melon, pulses, kaun, vegetables and engaging their limited efforts now in the handloom and cottage industries to change their economic condition for better life.
The huge natural green grasses available in the barren char areas on the rive basins encouraged the char people for rearing cattle heads over the years but they are yet to get adequate supports for the purpose.
Presently, hundreds of cows, buffalos, goats and sheep are found in the green grass fields everyday and cowboys are found taking bathes with their animals, hundreds in number in the rivers.
Some char families have been rearing those on commercial basis and earning profits to add to their capitals after meeting their expenses for living and their children are going to the schools.
Thus the char economy and life are flourishing as animal husbandry becomes popular despite manifold problems and the char people are supplying huge number of healthy sacrificial animals to the markets to keep the prices lower in recent years. They are selling cows, goats and sheep after their proper fattening but not getting proper market and fair prices of huge milk for lack of diary factory or milk processing industries or preservation facilities in the char areas.
Only RDRS has been collecting some portion of the milk from the char areas and supplying to the milk chilling plant of BRAC at Ulipur in Kurigram for processing, but the facility is quite inadequate.
Kuddus Ali, Julekha Begum, Abdul Karim, Johura Khatun, Ambia Khatun and others of different char villages in Chilmari upazila on the Brahmaputra recently narrated BSS the problems being faced and successes they achieved in recent years.
“We are also earning good incomes by rearing chickens, ducks and other poultry birds which have become our hopes and sources of inspirations in dreaming a better future for our next generations,” they added.
The char people identified the main problem of saving their animals during the flash floods for lack of necessary high lands and flood shelters when they become bound to sell their animals in throwaway prices.
“If diary farms, milk processing and preservation facilities are set up, animal vaccines are supplied, easy-term adequate loans are provided, the char people can contribute a lot in improving their own fates,” Nurul Amin Sarker, editor of the Weekly Janopran in Chilmari said.
Upazila Coordinator of CLP Tarikul Islam and Community Development Supervisor of CLP Abul Kalam Azad today told BSS that 5,672 cows have been distributed among 2,836 poor char families in three unions of Chilmari upazila during the past three years.
“We will complete distribution of more 2,600 cows among 1,300 families of these three unions of Ostomir Char, Noyarhat and Chilmari Sadar under Chilmari upazila of Kurigram on the Brahmaputra by the next two months period,” they added.
