Because of the coronavirus, farmers in Sonakhali village of Pinjuri union in Gopalganj's Kotalipara upazila saw little profit for the past two years. This year is different. Their cattle started selling a month before Qurbani markets opened around the country. With the Padma Bridge open, traders are buying the naturally raised local cattle of the village and taking them to Dhaka, and farmers say they are getting better prices than in other years.

Sonakhali lies in the beel area of Kotalipara upazila and stays under water for about nine months of the year. There is no work in the area during the monsoon, so for decades the villagers have made a living rearing ducks, chickens and livestock. The cattle on the village's farms are raised naturally on grass, which is why they are in great demand in Kotalipara and neighbouring upazilas.

This year more than 900 cattle have been raised on the village's hundred-plus small and large farms. Farm owners say about 200 have already sold at good prices, and they are very pleased.

Khabir Gazi (60), a farmer in Sonakhali, said: "I have been raising cattle for 40 years. Every year I sell before Qurbani and buy again. After last year's Qurbani Eid I bought 10 cows for Tk 5 lakh and have raised them for a year. Several traders have already come to the farm to buy. Demand seems higher this year than in other years."

Farmer Siddique Gazi (50) said: "Every year almost all of us sell cattle from the farm. Sales usually begin a few days before Eid, but this year they started about a month earlier. Because the Padma Bridge has opened, traders are buying cattle and taking them to Dhaka."

Farmer Nurul Fakir (45) said: "I had four cows on my farm and have already sold two. This year I have to sell at a slightly higher price than in other years." He blamed rising prices of oil cake and bran.

Cattle trader Sohag Sheikh said: "Because of time lost at the ferry, every year we used to buy cattle from Sonakhali and sell them at markets on this side of the Padma. There is huge demand for the local cattle here. Now that the Padma Bridge is open, we are paying a little more than in other years and taking the cattle to Dhaka."

Upazila livestock officer Dr Palash Kumar Das said Sonakhali's farmers raise cattle with advice and training from his office. Most cattle there are raised naturally, and there are local-breed cattle of all sizes. Farmers in the village profit from selling cattle every year, he said.

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