Smart Haat: A beacon of hope for cattle farmers

To prevent Covid-19 spread, the Moulvibazar district administration has launched an online cattle market named Smart Haat here ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, a festival marked by sacrifice of animals. It has already become popular among the marginal cattle farmers and buyers in the district.

Moulvibazar Deputy Commissioner (DC) Mir Nahid Ahsan said they have launched the online haat so that people can buy sacrificial animals from their home during coronavirus. It will decrease the number of buyers at the market besides reducing the cost the farmers spend for carrying their cattle to haat. Due to this initiative, the coronavirus infection rate will be low among people in the district.

He further said that anyone can login from his Facebook and search for Smart Haat to access this page. Videos and photos of cows and its weight and price and the address and mobile numbers of the farmers in different upazilas will be uploaded on this Facebook page. The upazilas are Sreemangal, Kamalganj, Rajnagar, Kulaura, Juri, Baralekha and Moulvibazar Sadar.

By visiting the page, the buyers can select the cow of their choice and purchase the animal by calling the mobile number given by the farm. Moreover, in case of any problem in buying or selling the cattle, seven hotline numbers have been created in the seven upazilas that is available 24 hours a day. The online cattle market was inaugurated at a meeting of the district law and order committee on July 12.

Mujibur Rahman, a farmer of Mirsankar area in Kulaura upazila of Moulvibazar district, said "I was taking preparation to sell his three cows this year. But after hearing the news of coronavirus outbreak since the beginning of the current year, I was afraid whether I would be able to sell the cows or not, because if I could not sell the cows, there would be no new dresses for his children in the Eid. But after hearing the news of the online cattle market, I see a ray of hope again and that's why I am collecting all the information."

Another farmer Saddam Mia of the same area said "I'm really glad to hear the news of the online haat as I will sell my cows from my house without any hassle."

Sajjad Hasan, a farmer from Kakiabazar in Sreemangal upazila, said he uploaded the video of his cow on the Facebook page of Smart Haat. It is priced at Tk 6 lakh. Many buyers are calling him after seeing the animal here.

Moulvibazar Superintendent of Police Faruq Ahmed said the initiative has been taken to prevent coronavirus transmission. Marginal farmers will be benefited from this.

DC Mir Nahid Ahsan said they have introduced regular cattle markets as well as online cattle market on behalf of the district administration this year. If the ordinary people buy their sacrificial animals from this online haat, it will be possible to avoid the possibility of Covid-19 infection.

He further added that the online cattle market has already attracted the farmers in the district during the pandemic. Every day the cattle farmers upload the photos and videos of their cows on this Facebook page for sale. The volunteers under the Access to Information (a2i) programme are helping the farmers to upload photos and videos of the sacrificial animals on the Facebook page.