The interim government has formed the Bangladesh Dairy Development Board, which takes effect from Monday (1 September). The government has also declared the Bangladesh Dairy Development Board Act, 2023 effective from the same day.

The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock recently issued two notifications on the matter, which were later published in the gazette.

One notification says that, under the powers of sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Bangladesh Dairy Development Board Act, 2023, the government has fixed 1 September as the date the law comes into force.

The other says that, under the powers of sub-section (1) of section 4 of the act, the government has established the Bangladesh Dairy Development Board, effective from 1 September.

The government issued the Bangladesh Dairy Development Board Act, 2023 on 13 November 2023 to increase production of milk and dairy products as a balanced food, set and control standards, handle marketing and manage related matters properly.

The new board will help make the country's milk production, processing, quality control and market management more dynamic. The government's aims are to increase local milk production, ensure fair prices for farmers and get safe milk to consumers.

The cabinet gave final approval to the draft of the act on 10 April 2023.

The then cabinet secretary, Md Mahbub Hossain, told journalists afterwards that the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock had placed the draft for final approval and that it had been approved. The law would set up a board named the Bangladesh Dairy Development Board.

He said the board's main work would be to give advice and technical support on scientific cattle rearing, veterinary services, and production and marketing of quality milk. It would also set quality standards for dairy and dairy products, give technical support and advise on and support the development of the sector.

Mahbub Hossain said anyone doing business in dairy products would have to register with the Dairy Development Board, and the law provides that business cannot be done without registration. Everyone producing milk and dairy products for commercial purposes would have to come under the board.

The then cabinet secretary had said that the remarkable progress seen recently in meat production was now being reflected in dairy, so the management of the dairy sector needed to be improved and given more support, which is why the board was being formed. The board will have a governing body, a chief executive and its own fund. The fisheries and livestock minister will be its chairman, and the governing body will have 19 members.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.