Broiler farms now have no birds. The livestock minister's promises have left no mark in the field. Farmers do not know how they will get the incentive money.

On 22 April a kilogram of broiler chicken sold for Tk 40 to 45 at the farm. Today, 22 May, a month later, the price is Tk 190. In a few days broilers may not be found even at Tk 300 a kg, because farms have no birds left. Farmers who suffered losses have given up and are sitting at home; broiler farms stand empty, and since the coronavirus outbreak farmers have not restocked and are completely idle.

Chick producers say there is little trade in chicks either, and what is sold is sold at a loss of Tk 10–12 a chick. Farmers are watching which way the coronavirus situation goes, fearing that if they stock birds and lose money again they will not be able to cope. Meanwhile, there is no sign in the field of the livestock minister's promise to look after them.

A month ago a chick that used to cost Tk 35 was priced at Tk 1, and still no one stocked it. Even free chicks found no takers, and farmers had to kill hundreds of thousands of chicks every day, because when the whole country came to a standstill at the start of the outbreak, chickens, chicks and eggs could not be sold. Thousands of farmers were ruined. The government has given an incentive to the poultry sector, under which farmers can take loans and restart. But enquiries among farmers in various parts of the country found that no one from the government has approached them, and they cannot say how they will get the money.

Selina Parvin, owner of Tushar Poultry farm in the Kudabo area of Gazipur district, told Jago News: "I have no business now. The farm lies empty; there are no birds in either the broiler or the layer sheds. I heard the government will give us loans, but so far I know nothing about it. At the start of the coronavirus I sold my laying hens at a loss of Tk 10 lakh, because egg prices kept falling and feed prices rose. I had 3,000 broilers. They cost Tk 110 a kg to raise and I sold them at Tk 40–45. I lost several lakh taka there too."

She said: "Now we ourselves are buying broilers at Tk 170 to 180 a kg to eat." She feared that once this batch runs out, chicken will not be available even at Tk 300 a kg, because all the farms around her have closed.

Mahbub Alam Lablu, director of Afil Agro Limited, the largest chick producer in Jashore, told Jago News: "Here broilers are selling wholesale at Tk 140–145 a kg. We used to sell 3 lakh 50 thousand kg of broilers a week; now we can sell only 50,000 kg. Of our 10 sheds, eight have run out of birds and only two still have chickens. Once those two are empty, it will take time for birds to come again."

He said it was not only their sheds: thousands of farmers' sheds lie empty. "We are still selling chicks at a loss of Tk 10–12 each and still cannot find buyers. Farmers are watching the situation and do not want to stock birds until the coronavirus situation improves. So in the coming days it may be hard to get broilers even at a very high price."

Asked about the government incentive for poultry farms, he said: "The minister has said so, I have heard that, but so far I have not seen any activity on it."

Farhad Hossain, a poultry farmer in Tangail, told Jago News: "Now there are no birds on my farm. Those who have birds are selling at Tk 170 to 180 a kg. After the lockdown it cost Tk 110 to produce a kilogram of broiler meat, and we sold at Tk 40–45 a kg. After losing like that I stopped stocking chicks. I will stock again after watching the situation. Most farms have no birds now. In many places a time will come when broilers cannot be had even for more than Tk 190."

Answering a question, Farhad said he had heard about the incentive, but no news about it had yet reached farmers, and no one from the livestock office had contacted them.

AKM Ariful Islam, deputy director (breeding) of the fisheries and livestock directorate, told Jago News that a list of poultry farmers hit by the coronavirus was being prepared. "We have been asked to make a list and we are making it. We have not yet received clear instructions on who will get the incentive and how. Once the list is done it will be sent to the ministry."

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