Duck farms have sprung up across Derai upazila of Sunamganj, most of them set up by young men who had no work and by labourers. The upazila's 233 farms produce about 1.05 million eggs a year, worth about Tk 1.5 crore, and after meeting local demand the eggs go all over the country through wholesalers.
At least 30 farms of all sizes line Chaptir haor and the Kalni river, each with thousands of ducks raised free on open water. Gouranga Das of Kachua village has kept ducks for 15 years. This year 600 of his 1,700 ducks are laying, and at Tk 11 an egg he sells Tk 198,000 worth a month. After paying two workers and buying feed and medicine, and covering his household and his children's schooling, he still makes a profit, he said.
Farmers Badal Das, Rajat Das and Sudhir Talukdar have 600 ducks, 450 of them laying, and keep Tk 20,000 to 25,000 a month after costs. They said profits would be higher if they could graze the ducks on open water. Gouranga Das said cancelling the leases on haor canals and ponds and keeping them open would let farms grow further.
Farmers said that for five or six months of the rains there is no dry ground, so they build temporary pens on the water with bamboo poles, plastic netting and nets. When they let ducks out on the haor, the leaseholders of the water bodies stop them, which pushes up feed costs. They also complain that the livestock office gives them few vaccines and little advice.
Derai upazila livestock officer Mithun Chandra Dey said duck rearing does not conflict with fish farming: duck droppings feed fish and raising both together raises the output of each. Ducks do not eat fish but snails and mussels, he said, adding that registered farmers get regular advice. The report is by Krishi Shomoy's Sunamganj correspondent.
Photo: Belayet2014 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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