Govt to introduce state of the art management in meat and fish sector

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Shafiqul Islam
Published : 11:37, Nov 18, 2018 | Updated : 12:29, Nov 18, 2018

The government has taken a decision to bring back discipline to the production of milk and meat all over the country.

Relevant people say that due to lack of a value chain, preservation plus processing methods, weak market management and awareness and absence of modern incentives, dairy and meat sector has fallen behind the poultry sector.

Reportedly, only 5 to 7 per cent milk produced in the country is processed in a modern method while 80 to 85 per cent got to the traditional sweet manufacturing sector.

On the other hand, arbitrary slaughtering of animals without any specific area causes environmental damage.

To address these issues, the government wants to take up a livestock and dairy improvement project at a cost of Tk. 4280 crore 36 lakh. 

The government will provide Tk. 394 crore 63 lakh while World Bank’s International Development Association, IDA, will give the rest as project assistance and ministry of livestock and water resources will implement the project.

The project will be carried out in all city corporations of 61 districts in eight divisions of the country.

While the government expects fulfilment of sustainable development goals by 2030 and developed status by 2041, 41 per cent of children under five are currently victims of malnutrition.

Also, 22 per cent children are underweight and to counter this, proper production of protein is needed.

As the dairy sector has progressed, the meat and dairy industry is stymied by the absence of a value chain that ensures safety.

The proposed project will emphasise on increasing production, innovation of new technology, market linkage of meat product, improvement of value chain, management of risk in the production of livestock and evaluation.

Fisheries and livestock minister, Narayan Chandra Chanda, told Bangla Tribune: “once this project is implemented, small farmers and agro-entrepreneurs will get the ability to adapt to climate change and the value chain management system.”

The value chain plus market linkage will be formed with 5500 production bodies, he added.

“Livestock insurance, knowledge management platform, quality control and logistical support will modernise the sector.” 

/tf/up-hm/
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