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Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhter on Sunday called for increasing the production of buffalo as it can play an important role in the rural economy.
“Once upon a time buffalo was used for conventional agriculture works …but now our protein demand is continuously being fulfilled by its meat and milk,” she said.
The adviser made this comment while addressing the closing session of the three-day 11th Asian Buffalo Congress-2024 at BCDM in Savar, reports BSS.
Highlighting the importance of the buffaloes, the adviser said although Bangladesh is a small country its biodiversity is very much rich. “Buffalo rearing is important for the rural economy …Women are playing a supporting role in producing milk and meat,” she added.
The adviser also mentioned that people are rearing a herd of thousands of buffaloes in the char areas of Bhola where tasty cards are being made from the milk in the district.
Responding to the call for taking necessary action to increase the production of buffaloes in Southeast Asian countries like Bangladesh, Farida Akter said “The previous government had given less importance to rearing buffaloes.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock will take various steps on how to increase the buffalo production in the country,” the adviser added.
Noting that the implications of climate change are one of the main challenges on the livestock including the buffaloes; the adviser said “The buffalo rearing can contribute in receding the carbon-di-oxide gas emission through various processes.”
In Bangladesh, the total buffalo population is 1.464 million heads that are managed in household subsistence farming as well as extensive free range (Bathan) farming in the saline coastal regions that are used as a draught animal and partially for milk and meat production.
The buffalo plays a very important role in the SAARC countries which constitute 73.77 per cent of the world buffalo population. The SAARC region has a great biodiversity of buffalo germplasm, including the world-famous buffaloes Murrah and Nili-Ravi-renowned for high milk production potential.
The SAARC countries share 93.19 per cent of world buffalo milk production whereas India and Pakistan contribute 67.99 and 23.96 per cent, respectively.
About 71.4 per cent of world buffalo meat is produced in South Asian countries. Although buffalo is an essential part of livestock in SAARC countries, it has never been addressed in Bangladesh and has always been neglected despite their important role in the national economy.
With Prof Omar Faruque in the chair, the meeting also was addressed, among others, by fisheries and livestock secretary Sayeed Mahmud Belal Haider, director general of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) Mohammad Reazul Karim, director general of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) Dr SM Jahangir Hossain, general secretary of International Buffalo Federation(IBF) Antonio Borghese and Secretary of Asian Buffalo Association Dr Ashok Kumar Balhara.
