People once kept pigeons as a hobby. Times have changed, and many unemployed young people have become self-reliant by rearing them. But without proper training and a dedicated market in the district, farmers are missing out on fair prices. The district livestock department has promised to create a pigeon market and arrange training.

Mafizur Rahman of Thanapara in Gangni upazila, Meherpur, started by keeping a few local pigeons as a hobby. One day at the market in Natore he saw colourful pigeons, bought foreign pigeons worth Tk 30,000 and began rearing them on his own farm. In just four years he has sold pigeons worth Tk 10 lakh, and he still has about Tk 3 lakh worth on the farm.

Mafiz is not alone; many young men in the district are taking up pigeon rearing, and there are now more than a hundred pigeon farms. They rear foreign breeds such as Bokhara, Maltese, English Trumpeter and Nutritian, with pairs priced from Tk 3,000 to Tk 50,000, and they are making a profit.

Meherpur farmers Azmat Ali and Shahajamal said that with no training in pigeon rearing and no dedicated market in the district, they face losses, and outbreaks of disease leave them in difficulty. They have to go to Natore, Pabna and other districts to sell their pigeons, which deprives them of fair prices.

Meherpur's acting livestock officer Shariful Islam said that a large section of the population, especially educated unemployed young people, is becoming self-reliant by rearing pigeons, and the livestock department will provide all kinds of help, including training.

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