Farmers, cattle and poultry have multiplied in Bagatipara upazila of Natore, but staff at the livestock office have not. Against 11 sanctioned posts there are six people in post, and with two on deputation only four do regular duty. The office and its veterinary hospital have run like this for about five years, Desh Rupantor reports.
According to the office, about 12,000 large and small farmers live in the upazila's five unions and one municipality, and it is responsible for treating their animals, disease prevention, vaccination, farm management, training and extension. The dresser has been on deputation in Rajshahi for about six months, and a veterinary field assistant in Dhaka for about a year.
Local people say that when an animal falls sick in the villages, getting quick treatment and advice is hard. The shortage has made it difficult to run the government vaccination programme, home visits, courtyard meetings and extension work regularly, and to respond fast to a disease outbreak.
Upazila livestock officer Dr Md Rokonuzzaman says the post of sub-assistant livestock officer (extension) has long been a problem: one person was posted but has been on deputation in Dhaka for about a year, so field extension and scheduled vaccination suffer. Volunteers sometimes give vaccines, but without trained government staff the desired quality cannot be assured.
He says 70 to 80 farmers and livestock keepers come to the office for treatment and advice every day. Artificial insemination is running normally because it has the staff it needs. Working with less than half the staff is extremely hard, he said, and the shortage has been reported in writing to the director general.
Photo: Ibrahim Husain Meraj / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Desh Rupantor
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