Ahead of the holy Eid-ul-Azha, 54,890 animals have been prepared for sacrifice in the district's three upazilas, according to the district livestock office. That is 23,000 more than the district's demand for qurbani, and farmers hope the surplus will sell outside the district.

According to the district livestock office, 54,890 animals are being fattened for sacrifice on farms and in homes in Narail's three upazilas. They include 19,698 cattle, 35,103 goats and 89 sheep. Hoping for extra profit, farmers are raising animals at home alongside the commercial farms. Besides meeting the district's demand, the surplus of about 23,000 animals will meet demand in other parts of the country.

In the district, 4,599 large and small farmers and growers are raising various breeds of cattle, goats and sheep. Sadar upazila livestock officer Mohammad Rokonuzzaman said a campaign had been run to make sure farmers do not use any harmful chemical feed to fatten the animals. This year the district livestock department has set a target of Tk 252 crore in animal sales in the district.

Farmers said some are fattening animals at home and some on farms, feeding them naturally grown green grass. Besides straw, many feed them oil cake, wheat bran, crushed maize, rice bran, mung bean husks and gram husks. The district's large and small livestock farms employ about 50,000 people, who hope to earn extra income by selling these animals at the coming Eid.

Waliur Rahman of Charikhada village in the sadar upazila told Jagonews that 10 bulls, both local and foreign breeds, were being fattened on his farm. His farm has animals worth Tk 1.2 lakh to Tk 1.5 lakh.

District livestock officer (additional charge) Dr Abu Taleb told Jagonews: "Ahead of the Eid, we are visiting farms in every upazila and giving farmers the advice and medicines they need. Animals will also be sold online under the supervision of the livestock office." Animals will be sold at six permanent cattle markets in the district's three upazilas, and two or three temporary markets may also be set up to sell sacrificial animals, he said.

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