RAJSHAHI, Dec 9, 2020 (BSS) – Veterinary experts and academics underscored the need for promoting commercial sheep farming to reduce rural poverty alongside meeting protein demand of people.
Wide-ranging promotion of commercial sheep farming can be effective means of boosting woolen fiber, elevating rural people’s income, producing more meat and milk to meet the country’s nutrition demand, they opined.
They came up with the observation while distributing sheep among 23 grassroots farmers on Narkelbaria campus of Rajshahi University (RU) on Tuesday.
The Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in RU hosted the distribution ceremony on behalf of the ‘Validation of Good Practices of On-farm Lamb Production System’ project with financial support of Krishi Gobeshona Foundation (KGF).
Main thrust of the distribution programme was to further extension of sheep farming to the country’s rural areas.
Principal Investigator of the project Prof Jalal Uddin Sarder and its Co-investigator Prof Akhtarul Islam, Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer of the department Dr Hemayetul Islam Arif and Upazila Livestock Officer Dr Rana Mian addressed the function, disseminating their expertise on the issue.
In his remarks, Prof Jalal Sarder said quick economic growth of the region can be possible through proper uses and development of livestock resources.
Both commercial and non-commercial sheep farming should be given priority for poverty reduction and creating self-employment, he said.
Prof Akhtarul Islam urged the rural people to start sheep farming commercially using modern methods and technology to meet nutritional demand and produce valuable wool to help develop woolen textile in the country.
On behalf of the project, 59 farmers were given 600 lambs besides imparting them with need-based training on how to rear those in three categories in Paba and Godagari Upazilas in Rajshahi district.
Dr Hemayetul Islam told the meeting that a model sheep slaughterhouse and a lamb meat sale centre have been launched for the first time in the city.
The project intends to boost the supply of high nutritious lamb meat with improving the living and livelihood condition of the marginal farmers through rearing lambs.