Hamida Akter completed her graduation in history at Sa'dat University College in Tangail. But rather than a job, she dreams of becoming a big cattle farmer. For five years she has been raising Australian Friesian cows and bulls.

Hamida now has three Australian Friesian cattle on her farm. Using traditional methods, she has raised a huge five-year-old bull which she has named "Manik".

The bull has been prepared for the coming Eid-ul-Azha. Weighing 1,800 kg (45 maunds), it is priced at Tk 15 lakh. People come from far and wide every day to see the district's biggest bull at Hamida's house.

Hamida is the daughter of farmer Abdul Hamid and Rina Begum of Bhenguliya village in ward 5 of Lauhati union, on the border of Nagarpur and Delduar upazilas in Tangail.

She is the eldest of the couple's three daughters. With her earnings she pays for her own and her two sisters' education and helps run her farmer father's household. She has already seen her two younger sisters through the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC); one sister has married and the other is studying nursing.

Her father's land, including the homestead, is only 50 decimals. As he could not meet the family's costs, Hamida started tailoring alongside her studies in 2011. For the past five years she has raised cattle, geese and pigeons and worked as a bKash agent. A year ago she set up a grocery shop in front of the house as her business base, where she sells food items and also runs the bKash agency, Flexiload and tailoring.

Hamida told Jago News that her Australian Friesians are growing up like members of the family. Their shed has two ceiling fans and a mosquito net. Their regular diet includes straw, bran, green grass, malta, guava, banana, sweet pumpkin and sweet potato. To protect them from germs, they are bathed daily with soap and shampoo.

Manik and another bull, Ratan, were born on Hamida's farm five years ago. She decided to sell them at last year's Qurbani market, when Manik weighed 35 maunds and Ratan 34. She asked Tk 14 lakh for Manik and Tk 13 lakh for Ratan. Cattle traders came to the house and offered Tk 9 lakh for Manik, but as they wanted to take him on credit, he was not sold.

Manik and Ratan were then taken to Dhaka's Gabtali market, but because of the coronavirus that did not help. Ratan was sold for only Tk 4 lakh, and Hamida brought Manik back home.

Manik eats 17 kg of wheat bran, 4 kg of gram, 2 kg of cooked broken rice and half a kilogram of mustard oil cake every day, along with various kinds of ripe bananas. Hamida says Manik now weighs 45 maunds.

"I am trying to sell the bull from home. If a buyer comes and offers a fair price, we will deliver Manik to the buyer's home at our own cost. I hope to sell Manik at a good price this year," she said.

Asked why she raises cattle despite her education, she said: "I am not studying to get a job. My dream is to be a big cattle farmer. If I can sell Manik at a good price this year, I will use the money to build my dream farm and raise good breeds of cattle there."

Her mother Rina Begum told Jago News: "Her father raised cattle even before my daughters were born. Seeing that, Hamida became interested in raising cattle too."

Sohel Rana, who came from Kedarpur in Delduar upazila to see the bull, said: "I came here after hearing about such a big bull. I think it is the biggest bull in the district."

Jahangir Alam Buddu, member for ward 5 of Lauhati union, said: "Hamida's small farm has produced a 45-maund bull this year. I want this girl from a poor family to get a good price for it."

Lauhati union chairman Shahin Mohammad Khan said: "I know about university student Hamida's cattle rearing, but she has never come to me for help. If she ever wants our help to build a large farm, we will certainly give it."

Delduar upazila livestock officer Dr Md Bahauddin Sarwar Rizvi said Hamida's bull is the biggest in the upazila, and that it would be promoted for sale on the office's online market with its photo, weight and price.

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