Ekhlasur Rahman is a successful poultry farmer in Chatmohar upazila of Pabna. Besides agriculture and other businesses, he has been rearing chickens for the last 18 years. At present 14 thousand chickens are reared in four sheds. His annual income from this sector is 56 lakh Tk. Successful farmer Ekhlas said anyone can earn Tk 56 lakh per year by keeping 14,000 chickens with proper care.
Ekhlasur Rahman, a resident of Baluchar Mahalla in Chatmohar Municipal , started raising chickens from 2004. At first he started a farm in Barguakhra area of Mathurapur union of Chatmohar and started rearing three thousand chickens. Ten years later, he started constructing four new sheds in Sonaharpara area of Bilchalan Union where he is keeping 14 thousand chickens . He is also cultivating fish by making a pond next to the shed. He is also doing agricultural cultivation. Three people have been employed in his Farm to look after the chickens.
Ekhlas said, “I produce corn for feeding chickens. I thresh corn on my own mill. If you raise more chickens and prepare their food own then other costs including labor cost will be less. At present about 95% of the hens are laying eggs. The money spent on raising chickens throughout the year goes up by selling eggs. At the end of the year, the chicken can be sold for at least 400 Tk. As such, by raising 14,000 chickens, I have a profit of at least 56 lakh Tk per year. ”Ekhlasur Rahman is not only a successful farmer but also a councilor of Chatmohar municipality. He has been elected as the councilor of Chatmohar municipality three times in a row. He is currently the chairman of the Chatmohar municipality1no panel. Addressing the farmers, he said that proper care and keeping the farms clean would increase both egg and meat production.
According to the findings, about one million eggs are produced in Chatmohar farms. Poultry and eggs produced in this area are sent to at least 16 districts of the country including Dhaka, Chattogram, Chapainawabganj, Rangpur, Jessore, Kushtia, Jhenaidah, Magura, Tangail and Satkhira. Eggs produced in Chatmohar meet most of the overall egg demand of the country.
Poultry food prices of various companies have been increasing from the last one year, which is having a negative impact on the poultry sector.
In this regard, Chatmohar Animal Resources Officer Dr. Md. Noor E Alam Siddiqui said, “The farmers of Chatmohar have already shown signs of success in the production of ducks, chickens and eggs. Chatmohar farmers are supplying surplus chickens and eggs to different districts of the country after meeting the needs of the area. Chatmohar is ahead of many other areas of the country in the poultry sector.
Storekeepers are sending out surplus eggs. If farmers focus on bio security, the incidence of disease will be less and they will be able to make more profit.”