Though the owners are swing between profiting and losing, the middlemen are making huge profits, said the sources.
The victimised farmers are demanding government supports like easy loans and opportunities to export eggs and fawls to revive the industry.
According to the Bogra Distrcit Poultry Owner's Association, there were over 5,200 poultry farms and 60 hatcheries in the distrcit in 2014. Currently, over 550,000 people are invloved with poultry industry.
General Secretary of Bogra Poultry Owner's Association and owner of Four Star Poultry and Hatchery in Shahjahanpur upazila, Nurul Ameen Pourtry said 40% of the poultry farms were destroyed in a disastrous storm on April 4, 2015. The owners have not been able to recover from that damage and thus many farmers were compelled to shut down their famrs.
Even though the government has given strict instructions to banks to provide loans at easy terms, poultry-owners are being denied loans and sometimes offered at 12-17% interest rates which makes it difficult to repay, he said.
According to the Bogra Poultry Owner's Association, about 70% of the expenses in the poultry industry is for feeding. As the feed is of inferior quality and not germ-free, rates of egg and meat production is decling gradually.
He said they had to sell chicks incuring loss due to lower market price.
A golden breed chick can weigh up to 800gm after 75-80 days of nurturing. But the feed, healthcare and other expenses cause the chicken's production cost per kilo to hike up to Tk180. But they are currently being sold at Tk160-170/kg. The farmers are making losses around Tk10-20 per kilo. A poultry farm breeds chicken for meat around 6-7 times per year, and half the time the owners suffer losses. But the middlemen make about Tk40-50/kg when they deliver it to the consumers. The market is expected to take a dip for Eid-ul-Azha which will cause the farmers to suffer more losses.
Some farmers remaining anonymous have disclosed that a number of shady merchants have taken to using harmful antibiotics and steroids to bulk up chickens in about a month. Since this reduces the cost of feeds, these farmers are in line to make good windfall.
Sources at Livestock departement said they could not monitor poultry industry for lack of manpower.
Even though the department is supposed to provide vaccines against Newcastle Disease, they are unable to meet the high demands. Though the farmers are making some profits for day-old chicks, meat-producing chickens are a losing effort.
Nurul Ameen added that the government has to get involved to sustain the dying industry in a role that at least maintains feed and medicine standards. The government has to subsidise the industry so that the farmers can profit and the industry survive, helping the government generate high revenues.
The district officer for animal resources Dr AFM Shafiuzzaman has said according to their records, there is one government-sponsored poultry farm and 3,476 privately-owned poultry farm as well as 52 hatcheries. These farms and hatcheries receive constant monitoring and medicine at government-set prices and expert advice among other facilities.
