Frequent power cuts leave poultry farmers reeling

MYMENSINGH, Aug 27 (bdnews24.com): Shakhawat Hossain had been doing well since opening a layer poultry farm in Mymensingh's Tarakanda upazila six years ago. But his fortunes took a turn for the worse when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020.
And now, he is struggling to keep the business afloat as the searing summer heat, compounded by the energy-saving load-shedding regime, is killing up to 15 chickens at his farm every day.
"Business was good during the first four years but now, I'm under a lot of pressure as the price of poultry fodder has gone up since the start of the pandemic. I've been trying hard to sustain the business in the face of mounting losses for the last two years."
"Recently, we've been losing 10 to 15 chickens daily due to excessive power outages. The chickens are dying from various diseases stemming from the extreme heat. Besides, the production of eggs has also decreased a lot."
Other farmers in the district are facing a similar predicament. Chickens at almost every farm in the district are being afflicted with diseases borne out of a combination of sweltering heat and power outages.
As the losses get steeper, many farmers are being forced out of business amid growing calls for government subsidies to protect the poultry industry.
According to the Mymensingh District Animal Resources Office, there are currently 438 registered commercial broiler farms, while another 5,227 are unregistered. In terms of layer chicken farms, 315 out of 4,783 have been registered with the authorities.
With a tinge of anger, farmer Alamgir Hossain of Tarakanda's Mahmudpur village said he would be better off shutting down his poultry business.
"I launched a chicken farm after watching others do it. The first two years went well. A few years ago, profits were high due to the low price of chicken feed. But, the price of soybeans has now doubled. Protein and maize are also a lot more expensive now, while medicine costs have tripled."
Although operating costs have soared, the price of chickens has not seen much of an increase.
"It costs Tk 125 to Tk 130 to rear a chicken weighing 1kg. We have to sell them at the same price. Now, chickens are dying every day from heat stroke," said Alamgir.
Shaheen Ahmed, a native of Ramchandrapur village, closed the chicken farm that he built seven years ago after landing in a heap of debt.
"I am carrying a debt of Tk 1 million. I'm in a sorry state because of the disconnect between the prices of eggs and chicken feed. I lost my passion for the business so I closed the farm down three months ago."
Shaheen said that many other poultry farmers like him have cut their losses and left for Dhaka in search of work.
It costs us Tk 42 to buy a baby chicken, said Anwar Parvez, a poultry farmer in Sadar Upazila's Dapunia village. "But then you have to feed and rear them. Now, we are without electricity for up to four hours a day. Generators have to be used during the outages. The price of diesel has increased by Tk 34 a litre."
"The government has announced that there will be uninterrupted power supply at night, but we are not getting its benefits. Now, I'm stuck in no man's land as I can neither leave the business nor continue like this."
Harun Or Rashid used to provide for his family of five by working on a poultry farm. But, he was left in the lurch when the owner suddenly closed the farm. He is now calling for the government's support to keep the business going.
Acknowledging the losses incurred by farmers due to frequent load-shedding and the increase in poultry feed prices, Mymensingh District Animal Resources Officer Mohammad Wahedul Alam said, "Poultry farming is a sensitive issue. The biggest factor is temperature. It's only natural that the animals will be affected by rising temperatures. If there is no electricity in a farm even for an hour, poultry chickens especially face the risk of suffering strokes."