Home ›› 30 Mar 2022 ›› Nation
Many farmers in Sherpur upazila of Bogura have achieved success in rearing country chicken breeds, commonly known as ‘deshi’ chicken.
‘Sapno Choar Shiri’, a local organisation, led by Dr Raihan, a veterinary surgeon by profession, helps many local unemployed youths to become self-sufficient through training in poultry farming.
Dr Raihan said the farms of Sapno Choar Shiri do not use any kind of steroids or growth hormones. Over 4,000 kgs of chicken meat and 100,000 eggs are being organically produced on these farms every month. Currently, there are nine hatcheries in the upazila capable of incubating about 85,000 chicks per month.
When asked about his motivation behind this initiative, Dr Raihan said, “When I came to the upazila in 2015, the markets were full of foreign and broiler chicken. I wanted to encourage people to take on commercial farming of country chicken.”
Dr Raihan won the Public Administration Award for his contribution to public services and for helping create new entrepreneurs. He hopes to spread the ideals of Sapno Choar Shiri countrywide and bring economic prosperity to the underprivileged.
Abdul Kader, Amzad Hossain, and Enamul Haque were the first to follow Dr Raihan’s into commercial farming of country chicken. When word of their success spread throughout the upazila, many became interested in this industry.
Department of Livestock Services under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock gave initial training and monetary help to 15 young entrepreneurs interested in country chicken farming at first.
The Cabinet division has already sent a letter to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock to launch this initiative in 20 more upazilas as a pilot project.
Dr Raihan also adds that an ‘Entrepreneurial School’ has been established in Sherpur town colony and Garidaha union.
This school holds classes every Friday and Saturday on organic hatching, farming, and marketing of country chicken to potential entrepreneurs.
Sapno Choar Shiri, began its journey with only a handful of youths and now it has more than 4,000 members.
One such individual, Zakaria Hossain, once struggling to find a job, is now a successful poultry farmer.
Zakaria said, following his father’s death, he struggled financially after graduating from university. When he was unable to acquire a government job, he became depressed.
Then he came across Sapno Choar Shiri and, following Dr Raihan’s suggestion, he created a small chicken farm in the hopes of providing for his family.
Zakaria’s farm which started off with 50 chicks at his house in Shahbondegi union, has now more than 1,000 chickens. He also has a hatchery capable of incubating 37,000 eggs at a time.
He now earns more than Tk 50,000 every month from his poultry farm.
Another successful poultry farmer Abdus Salam, while speaking with The Business Post, shared his story of how Sapno Choar Shiri brought him back from drug addiction and helped him become self-dependent.
He was struggling with unemployment when he first met Dr Raihan, who later informed him on the benefits of building a country chicken farm.
Subarna Khatun also has a similar story of becoming economically stable by taking on country chicken farming.
The entrepreneurs say that Sapno Choar Shiri has silently revolutionized the poultry farming industry by helping hundreds.
Saddam Hossian, the current chairman of Sapno Choar Shiri, stated that the organization members keep in touch with one another, making it easier for farmers to buy chicks directly from the hatchery and market the produce.
Students of the ‘Entrepreneurial School’ who are interested in poultry farming can buy chicks easily from the union members. Currently, country chicken hatchlings go for Tk 30 a piece, but the price fluctuates depending on demand.
“This initiative is spreading throughout the whole country. Because the demand and profit of country chicken are high, the industry is quickly growing,” comments Bogura District Livestock Officer Dr Rafiqul Islam Talukder.
