Online buying and selling of Qurbani animals has not taken off in Manikganj this year. Buyers are heading to the markets rather than online marketplaces to choose their animals. The Department of Livestock Services has arranged online sales in every upazila, but for lack of publicity there is little response there either. So far only four Qurbani cattle have been sold through its online market.

Last year, because of Covid, buyers and sellers were more interested in online cattle markets. This year, with restrictions somewhat relaxed, buyers prefer to go to the market in person. Still, many buyers are purchasing online to avoid the hassle of the markets, though most online buyers are from towns.

Debashish Singh, a young entrepreneur from Baniajuri village in Ghior upazila, has built a large cattle farm at his home, with 43 cattle ready for Qurbani. He is trying to sell them through a website and Facebook page under the name "Dibya Agro and Dairy Farm". He has sold a few but is worried about the rest.

He has not given up, though. Alongside online promotion highlighting home delivery and other services, he has set up a display stall and sales centre next to his house.

Moslem Uddin, owner of Swanirbhar Agro Farm in Chandhur village of Sadar upazila, said two cattle from his farm sold online last year. This year he has four Qurbani cattle, but there has been no response from buyers; everyone is choosing animals at the markets. If they do not sell from the farm, he said, he will take them to a village market.

Several farmers said the Department of Livestock Services had uploaded photos of Qurbani animals on social media with the farmer's name, address and mobile number, but its Facebook page has very few followers and there has been no publicity for the online market, so there is no response.

Manikganj District Livestock Officer Dr Md Mahbubul Islam said online cattle sales had drawn a good response during Covid. As the situation is not as bad this year, buyers are keen to go to the markets in person, so the online response is lower. So far four cattle have been sold in the district, and more are expected to sell.

He said steps will be taken to increase publicity for the online platform in future.

He added that 56,850 animals have been raised for Qurbani on 11,155 farms in the district this year.

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