Poultry farmers of Sundarganj upazila in Gaibandha face hardships for not being able to arrange fodder for their fowls, a direct result of the back-to-back blockades sponsored by the BNP-led 18-party alliance.
According to local sources, there are over 650 poultry farms at the upazila where 4,450,000 fowls are being reared.
About 100 grams of feed is required for a chicken each day. As per the measurement, 60 tonnes of feed are needed for chickens per day and 18,000 tonnes of fodder for a month.
The lone fodder producing mill ‘Sonali Feed’ established in the district few years back has been shut down due to a shortage of raw materials, forcing farmers to bring fodder for their chickens from outside the district.
Upazila Livestock Officer M Shahidul Islam said farmers were frustrated, as they could not get sufficient fodder for their poultry.
If the deadlock situation continues for longer, it would be impossible to keep all the chickens alive. Farmers would lose their zeal and interest in the poultry business, he said.
Ripon Miah, owner of Bhai Poultry Farm located at district headquarters, said farmers have a little quantity of feed, which would only last for two or three days.
If fodder is not stocked quickly, birds worth millions would soon die, he added.
Tazul Islam, a feed businessman of district town, said they could not send chicken feed to local farmers due to lack of transport facilities.
Farmers are coming from far-flung areas of the upazila to collect feed for their birds every day, but we could not supply it to them, as we do not have any in our warehouses, he added.
However, the farmers urged the government and opposition parties to look into the matter seriously and take necessary measures as early as possible to save the lives of the chickens.
Farmers are frustrated as they could not arrange feed for their poultry because of the ongoing blockade programmes.
