Alep Hossain, son of deceased Shamser Ali of Paylanpur village of Gunaigacha union in Chatmohar, Pabna, started his cattle farm with just one cow. After doing this farm in 2009, Alep Hossain did not run after job anymore. He tried to succeed there and he did succeede. In fourteen years, he sold two hundred cows of his farm. Now, he is rearing forty two cows. His wife Shilpariya Parveen encouraged him and helped him in his work all the time. Others have been employed on his farm.
Alep Hossain said, "In 2007, I obtained MA degree in History from Pabna Edward College. We are a joint family then. My father separated our brothers into separate families. I get one and a half bigha of land and one cow as my share. I started rearing the cow given by my father.
It is about 2009. A cow had a calf. When the calf is big, I sold it and bought another cow. Two cows started giving birth. In this way, the extent of the farm gradually increased. Now there are forty two cows in my farm. In the last thirteen years, I have sold two hundred cows including bulls, cows and calves. I bought ten bighas of land with the income from the farm. I have taken another ten bigha land on lease for grass production. Now I cultivate about 21 bigha of land. The price of the 42 cows in the farm is around 75 lakhs.
He also said that his wife Shilpariya Parveen and Atak passed away. Both of them worked tirelessly to reach this stage today. The wife takes care of the farm in addition to other household chores. They have three daughters. Everyone is pursuing education. They have to gain momentum by increasing the price of cow feed.
Rice straw 4 taka flour, coconut shell 58 taka per kg, corn 43 taka per kg, wheat husk 52 taka per kg, rice powder 16 taka per kg. It has become difficult to raise cows, farmers in the area stated.
Alep told that he sells milk for 50 Tk per liter. He expressed his anger that the price of milk has not increased in the last period of time despite the increase in the price of food.
Not only Alep Hossain, about 60% of the 300 families in the village have built cattle farms. As a result milk and meat production increased. Farmers are cultivating different varieties of grass including Napier, Jambu as an alternative to increasing the price of cow feed. Many families are now living comfortably by farming.
In this regard, Chatmohar Upazila Animal Resources Officer said, the price of food is high, so if you do not have your own land for grass production, we suggest starting a small-scale farm first. If you can produce 60% grass under your own management, you can do fairly well.
The price of milk has not increased at a proportional rate compared to other commodities. Cow farmers will benefit if the price of milk increases.
