Staff Reporter:
Fisheries and Livestock State Minister Sultan Salauddin Tuku on Friday said that the country’s livestock sector will be further enriched by enhancing the skills of farmers and strengthening vaccination programmes to prevent livestock diseases.
The state minister made the remarks as the chief guest at an event organised at Fatepur Government Primary School in Tangail Sadar, marking the launch of a vaccination campaign for Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) using a vaccine developed by the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI), said a press release.
“Many farmers lack adequate knowledge about livestock diseases, which leads to various challenges in disease identification and proper treatment management,” state minister said.
He urged livestock officers at the upazila and district levels to organise more training programmes for local farmers to bridge this gap.
Highlighting the government’s poverty alleviation efforts, the state minister said that under the directives of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, an initiative has been taken to distribute Black Bengal goats free of cost among the poor and marginalised populations.
“Goat rearing is highly profitable with low investment. If a underprivileged person can rear goats properly, they can easily become economically self-reliant,” he added.
The state minister further emphasised that cattle and goats provide nutritious food like milk and meat, which play a vital role in ensuring nutritional security for the population. Therefore, the government is prioritising livestock development and farmer welfare.
Around 2,000 cattle will be vaccinated against LSD under the current campaign, the state minister said, adding that necessary initiatives will be taken to bring all livestock in Sadar upazila under the vaccination coverage in the future.
Speakers at the event noted that while imported LSD vaccines cost around Tk300 per dose, the production cost of the locally developed BLRI vaccine is only Tk50 per dose.
The Department of Livestock Services (DLS) is currently manufacturing and distributing the vaccine at the field level.
Chaired by Dr Shakila Faruq, director general of the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI), the function was also addressed by Md Shahzaman Khan, director general of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), as the special guest.
Tangail District BNP President Hasanujjamil Shaheen, former member secretary of District BNP Mahmudil Haque Sanu, along with central and local leaders of BNP and its affiliate organisations, and local farmers were present at the event.
