Zahidul Islam Zahid, a resident of Shahpara in Thakurgaon town, used to support his family with the Bismillah Drywash shop in the town's Hajipara. During the Covid lockdown he had to keep the shop shut for a long time, and with no income he decided to raise quail. He has now succeeded with a quail farm, and has created jobs for others as well.

Towards the end of February last year he leased 1 acre of land in the Salandar area of Thakurgaon Sadar upazila and brought 3,500 quail from his uncle in Bogura.

He started the farm, named Bismillah Quail Farm, at a cost of about Tk 3 lakh. Soon after it opened, a number of birds died in the cold.

Zahid did not give up. Two months after starting, he began making a profit from selling quail eggs. He hopes to earn more by selling eggs and birds, and says that with government support he could expand the farm and create jobs for many more people.

The farm now has 2,500-3,000 quail, and 2,200-2,300 eggs are collected and sold every day. Five workers look after the farm, giving them a source of income too.

The birds are fed about 70 kg of feed a day in four rounds, twice by day and twice at night: 70 percent layer feed and 30 percent Sonali starter feed.

Ali Hossain, who works on the farm, said he can support himself and his family well from the job. "I really enjoy raising the birds here. In future I want to set up a quail farm like this myself," he said.

Farm manager Shariful Islam Sharif said the farm started with 3,500 birds, some of which died in the cold, and there are now about 2,500. Selling their eggs pays the staff's wages and leaves some income for the owner. With government backing, he said, the farm could be made larger, and others could follow their example.

Zahid said quail farming can help reduce unemployment. "I was frustrated during Covid, but on my uncle's advice I started this quail farm," he said.

"At first I raised birds for meat, but there was not much demand, so I started keeping them for eggs. Now, from selling eggs, I pay the workers here and my own family is doing well."

His advice to anyone who wants to start a quail farm is that even if they do nothing else, the income will support a family. "I leased land for my farm, so my costs are higher. Someone farming on their own land can profit more," he said. But before setting up a farm, he advised, people should first make sure they have a way to sell the eggs or birds.

District Livestock Officer Dr Md Abul Kalam Azad said quail farming is a profitable business. Whoever takes it up creates employment, and new entrepreneurs emerge through them, which is very important in Bangladesh's context. Farms set up in areas with more consumers will be more profitable, he said.

He said his office trains people who are running or planning such farms, provides treatment for the farms and monitors them.

"If we can create more new entrepreneurs like Zahidul, I hope it will play a leading role in reducing unemployment in the country," Abul Kalam Azad said.

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