Despite having one of the highest densities of livestock in the world, Bangladesh lags behind many other countries in terms of production and consumption of milk. According to available statistics, some 145 ruminants live per square kilometre in Bangladesh in contrast to 90 in India.
But the daily intake of milk is about 54ml per head per day in Bangladesh as against the corresponding figures of 227 ml in India and 520 ml in Pakistan. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recommends a quantity of 250 ml per head as the standard intake.
The country’s total production of milk stood at 3.46 tonnes in 2011-2012, falling far short of the demand for 13.50 million tonnes. This output can only meet only 25 per cent of current milk consumption.
As a result of the huge deficit, the county has been forced to import thousands of tonnes of milk powder every year. At present, the country spends around Tk. 10 billion every year for importing milk powder from abroad.
The domestic production of meat is also much below local demand. The total production of meat (beef, mutton and poultry) stood at 2.33 million tonnes in the last fiscal (2011-12) as against the demand for 6.48 million tonnes. It met only 35 per cent of the total demand. Experts pointed out
that by promoting the use of buffaloes and cross-bred cows, the milk and meat deficit can be met.
Even though production of milk and meat is rising, it is unable to keep pace with the demand, which is growing at a faster rate. Demand is rising because of the rapid increase in population, rising living standards, growing awareness of nutrition and change in food habits.
Experts attributed the reasons for the lacklustre performance to a lack of high-yielding dairy animals and scarcity of quality feeds, fodder and pasture land.
Experts pointed out that at present, the country is facing a serious shortage of high-quality animals. Despite having the highest density of cattle population, the productivity in Bangladesh is far below the world average. The milk yield of Bangladesh cattle head per lactation is about 206 kg as against the Asian average of 1,220 kg. The yield of Pakistan cattle head per lactation is about 1,179 kg and of India 1,014 kg.
“To overcome the crisis we need to develop our own dairy breed. We face severe constraints of high-yield breed, quality feed and veterinary services,” said business magnate Abdul Awal Mintoo, who is the chairman of Lal Teer Livestock Ltd. He described livestock as the driving force behind food security and sustainable development.
“The rapid improvement of local cattle can be ensured through cross-breeding, using semen from high-quality animals. Such cross-bred animals produce satisfactorily; survive well under the local conditions; and have the necessary heat tolerance,” said Abdul Awal Mintoo, a former president of the Bangladesh Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).
Livestock is an essential component of Bangladesh’s rural economy and provides the livelihoods of the majority of the rural population. Its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) is about 2.67 per cent. Landless and small farmers depend largely on livestock for their subsistence. Around 20 per cent of the rural population is directly or indirectly engaged in the livestock sector.
Cows and buffaloes are the two important species of the ruminant family in Bangladesh. They are the main source of milk, meat and draught power in the country. They supply almost 99 per cent of the total milk produced in the country and 50 per cent of the total meat sold in the market and fulfil 98 per cent of the total draught requirements of the country.
Of the total milk production, around 90 per cent comes from cows while the remaining 10 per cent is supplied by buffaloes and goats. According to the department of livestock services (DLS), there are around 23.16 million cows, 1.424 million buffaloes and 24.754 million goats. Of the total cattle population, around 6 million are dairy cows, of which about 85-90 per cent are indigenous and 10-15 per cent are cross-bred cows.
Traditionally, the people of Bangladesh used to depend mostly on cow’s milk, which is highly insufficient (only 20 to 25 per cent of the demand is met), but demand for milk is rising rapidly because of the rising purchasing power of consumers and greater use by commercial users, who make sweets and confectionery items.
“For minimizing the gap, there is a phenomenal potential opportunity for boosting milk production in Bangladesh through buffalo farming,” said Abdul Awal Mintoo, who pointed out that the country’s climate has been proven to be suitable for buffalo farming. Buffaloes have a number of advantages over cows. A buffalo is three times heavier than a cow and produces twice the amount of milk. Buffaloes are more docile and easy to handle, and climatically adapted.
As far as quality is concerned, buffalo milk is superior to cow milk and contains higher proteins (4.5 per cent compared to 3.2 per cent), fat (8 per cent as against 3.9 per cent) and lower cholesterol (8 mg in contrast with 14 mg) respectively. Buffalo milk has twice the nutritional value of cow’s milk and is easy to use in the preparation of a variety of milk products.
In Bangladesh, buffaloes are mostly concentrated in the Jamuna-Bramhaputra river basin and the coastal belt of the country. They are mostly used for milk and draught purposes. Swamp buffaloes are found in the north-eastern hilly region of the country and are used for draught and meat purposes.
A huge number of buffaloes are being reared in the coastal belt under the Bathan system but no improvement programme has been implemented. Under the Bathan system, buffaloes are reared only with natural feeding, without any concentrate feeds, and no housing is provided to them. They can survive using roughages of very low quality and have a high degree of resistance to common diseases.
“Though the livestock sector has a huge economic potential, the productivity is very low and insufficient,” said Abdul Awal Mintoo, adding that the massive deficiency in food and nutrition can be met by taking initiatives to develop the livestock sector through relevant research and development for promoting livestock productivity, food security and nutrition.
It is interesting to note that the former FBCCI chief has returned to student life after a gap of 35 years. He obtained his B.Sc. in Transportation Science in 1973 and M.Sc. in Transportation Management in 1977 from the State University of New York. Recently he obtained M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics from SOAS, University of London and the graduation ceremony which was attended by Princess Anne, the Chancellor of the University, on March 19, 2013.
While obtaining his Msc from SOAS, he had to prepare a thesis on “Increasing Milk Production by Improving the Profile of the Buffalo in Bangladesh“.
“Conducting my research took me back to my rural roots. It has given me the opportunity to revisit rural life, livelihood framework and many aspects and dimensions of poverty which I had left behind more than four decades ago. It gave me numerous insights and a new perspective to understand the nature, structure and extent of poverty” he said.
-With The Independent input
