Of Eid-ul Azha and sacrificial animals

Bangladesh now appears set to overcome the supply-side constraints that were widely speculated upon this year about sacrificial animals during the Eid-ul-Azha to be celebrated on September 25, thanks to some timely efforts by the government. Such fears loomed large as there was initially a tightening of border belts by India but later such a restriction on supply of cattle to Bangladesh seemed to have been relaxed. That is why, thousands of cows, bulls and other sacrificial animals are reportedly coming from India to cattle markets throughout Bangladesh. An estimated two million cows are smuggled from India to Bangladesh each year, according to trading circles.
On the other hand, there has been an official move to bring in cattle from neighbouring Myanmar. All indications have it that Bangladesh will face no real supply-shortage of sacrificial animals this year. The Livestock Minister has always been optimistic about abundant supplies after press reports indicated a likely 'crisis'. He categorically asserted that there would be no such problem during the Eid as the dairy farmers in Bangladesh are ready to supply four million cows and 6.9 million goats.
The Eid-ul Azha is of great importance to traders and exporters of leather and leather products every year. Hides of animals that are sacrificed during the Eid, do normally meet nearly half of Bangladesh's annual demand for basic raw materials of its leather industry. Leather and leather goods fetched US$1.13 billion in the last fiscal, compared to $1.12 billion in the previous one, making it the second highest contributor in the form of export receipts to the country's foreign exchange earnings in aggregate terms, after readymade garments.
This sector has otherwise been performing well as higher export values have enabled it to earn over $1.0 billion for two years in a row. Despite such earnings growth, the country missed the export target of $1.4 billion -- by 19.09 per cent -- in fiscal 2014-15. Meanwhile, extensive speculations this year over Indian restrictions on livestock supply have its silver lining for Bangladesh. This apparently led the government to draw up plans for production of vaccines for animals, provision of medical treatment, species' development through artificial insemination and provision of training for dairy farmers.
In tandem with such efforts, the Bangladesh Bank has also started a credit programme for development of livestock under which loans are to be provided at 5.0 per cent rate of interest for purchasing and raising livestock. In order to achieve self-sufficiency in this sector, an initiative has thus been taken to implement a three-year integrated programme.  
But development of livestock in Bangladesh is yet to make the desired headway. Even Finance Minister AMA Muhith had admitted in his fiscal 2015-16 budget speech that although good progress has been made in the field of poultry, progress in livestock is lacklustre. "Excepting artificial insemination, no effective initiative has taken place; even the food supply system in this sector is quite weak. Considering the nutritional demand of the people, we need to attach special importance to the development of livestock sector, and for this purpose we will take up various projects on a pilot basis," he said.
In this context, it is worthwhile to mention here that viral and bacterial attacks annually kill nearly 67 per cent of cattle in rural areas of Bangladesh while an expert study has attributed 80 per cent of the casualty to lack of quality vaccination. "With the existing facilities, DLS (Department of Livestock Services) is capable to vaccinate only 10 per cent and provide treatment to 6.5 per cent of the livestock population," read the study titled, "An empirical study on the perspective of vaccination for livestock and poultry of poor households in rural Bangladesh".
The Department of Agriculture Finance of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) of Mymensingh and Islamic Relief Bangladesh jointly carried out the study. "The ratio of animals to a qualified veterinarian is 1:170,000 . . . no livestock staff is employed at the union or village-level," the study said. It pointed out that against the 15,000 village level agriculture assistants in the Agricultural Extension Department (DAE), DLA could employ only 1,299 countrywide technical staff, suggesting the acute manpower shortage for the promotion of the sector.
"This situation forces livestock keepers to seek traditional medicine with poor outcomes," the study read. The study said that as against the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) standard suggesting per capita daily intake of 120 grams of meat and 260 millilitres of milk throughout the year, consumption of meat and milk in Bangladesh is 24.38 gram and 67.96 millilitres respectively.
The study said mortality rate in livestock and poultry is crucially needed to be reduced to minimise the supply and demand gap, alongside steps for increased productivity of cattle. Under the situation, the government needs to allocate more funds for strengthening vaccine production capacity by Livestock Research Institute (LRI) under the DLS to fulfil the total demand for vaccines in the country, said noted microbiologist Professor Dr M Alimul Islam of Bangladesh Agriculture University, who led the study.
Livestock's contribution to agricultural gross domestic product (GDP) is even lower than that of the fisheries though it is an important sub-sector in agriculture. The contribution of animal farming has remained largely stagnant with a share of around 13 per cent of agricultural GDP over the last two decades, whereas the share of fisheries considerably increased from 15 per cent in fiscal 1989-1990 to 23 per cent in fiscal 2011-2012. It is time for taking appropriate policies to remove barriers to sustained development of livestock sector so that it can grow to its full potential and meet the future demand of the growing population of the country.
arjayster@gmail.com