Raising Beijing or Pekin ducks from China is becoming more popular in Kurigram by the day. Besides producing meat, the ducks are changing the fortunes of many unemployed people in rural areas and creating new jobs for women and men. The district livestock department says there are about 6,000 duck farms in the district's nine upazilas, and more than 600 farmers among them raise Pekin ducks.
Mir Mosharaf Hossain of Togoraihat Madhai village in Rajarhat upazila is one such farmer. Following modern methods, he has built a Pekin duck farm on a raised platform. The breed is raised mainly for meat. Pekin ducks look attractive and grow very fast: with proper care and a balanced diet, each duck reaches an average of 3-4 kg in just 30-45 days.
He now has 1,000 Pekin ducks on his farm. Because the ducks are in demand nationwide, he markets them online to Dhaka, Cumilla, Bogura, Sirajganj and other places. Many people have become interested after seeing farmers become financially self-reliant by raising the fast-growing ducks. As well as changing his own fortunes, he has created jobs for more than 50 unemployed women and men in the area.
From bird flu losses to ducks
Mosharraf Hossain said: "I took a bank loan and started raising 10,000 broiler chickens in 2022. Then all the chickens died of bird flu. Having suffered financial losses, I closed the farm. Later I was inspired by the signboard of a private organisation promoting Pekin ducks. With that organisation's help I started the farm with 100 ducks. Now I make a good profit."
Rahima Begum, Moslema Khatun and Khadija Begum, who work on the farm, said: "Between household chores, 25-30 women work on the farm. We can work two or three days a week. We get Tk 300 as a daily wage, and on contract we get Tk 25-27 for each slaughtered duck we process."
Dr Rahmat Ali, Rajarhat upazila livestock officer, said: "Along with the government, various local private development organisations are also playing a role in developing the country's livestock sector. The livestock department is giving farmers technical support to make them financially self-reliant."
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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