Fodder crisis threatens cattle rearing in 2 flood-hit districts
Farmers from flooded Sindurna village in Hatibandha upazila of Lalmonirhat district float a haystack towards a market to sell it for high price as fodder crisis in the flood-affected area has made the item dear.Photo: STAR
Acute crisis of green fodder coupled with high prices of hay, oilcake and wheat bran is badly affecting cattle farming in Teesta and Dharla river basin areas in Lalmonirhat district. "The recent flood washed away my haystack and damaged grass fields in the area. I got seven to eight litres of milk daily from two cows a month ago but now they give only three litres of milk on an average," said Abdar Hossain, of Shoalmari village under Kaliganj upazila in Lalmonirhat district. Milk production has decreased due to lack of fodder in river basin areas in the district, he said. "I have sold eight milk cows of my dairy farm at a low price as the recent flood damaged the farm. Now I am facing financial crisis. Four labourers working in my farm have become jobless too,” said Moslem Uddin of Boalmari Char village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila. Most of the farmers who took shelter on roads, embankments and highland along with their cows are yet to return home as floodwater destroyed their houses and cowsheds. During a visit to the char areas of Teesta and Dharla rivers, this correspondent found that many cows have become sick, many of them with skin diseases. Very few medical teams are working in char (landmass emerged from riverbed) areas to check any epidemic of post-flood diseases among the domestic animals. "I have sold all of my three cows as fodder crisis has turned serious here after the recent flood damaged all the grass fields,” Johir Uddin of Sindurna village in Hatibandha upazila said. One maund (37.3242kg) of hay is selling for Tk 350 to Tk 400 in local markets whereas it sold for Tk 150 to 160 last year. Mozibor Rahman, 50, a farmer of Gobordhon Char village under Aditmari upazila in Lalmonirhat said the fodder crisis will probably continue till the beginning of aman paddy harvesting. “We the poor farmers always rear our cows on the grass fields in the village as we cannot purchase hay from the local markets at high price. Now we have to sell our domestic animals for low prices due to fodder crisis,” he said. Hasim Uddin, 45, a dairy farmer at Kalmati Char village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila, said he is badly in need of grass seedlings after losing grass on four bighas (one bigha = 0.3306 acre) of land due to flooding. Lalmonirhat District Livestock Officer Dr Abu Hossain Sarker said floodwater destroyed green fodder at about 50 villages in Teesta and Dharla river basin areas in four upazilas of Lalmonirhat and it would take months for new grass to grow. UNB adds from Madaripur: A large number of farmers in the district, particularly in rural areas, are finding it difficult to rear their cattle due to acute shortage of fodder. Farmers could not collect straw for their cattle during the harvesting season due to incessant rain that flooded the crop fields. Over 20,000 cattle in four upazilas of the district have been suffering from various diseases due to malnutrition caused by acute shortage of fodder, sources in the District Livestock Department said. Other sources, however, said the number of the affected cattle would be over 30,000. Some farmers said that treatment of the diseased cattle is being hampered due to shortage of necessary medicine at the district and upazila livestock centres. Failing to buy pricey fodder, many farmers are selling their cattle at throwaway prices. The farmers urged the authorities concerned to take necessary steps to import fodder to save their cattle.
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