Poultry owners demand insurance scheme to lessen loss
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Shah Alam Nur
Poultry industry operators have urged the government to introduce an insurance scheme to protect the sector from its possible losses due to avian influenza. "We expect the government will include poultry insurance into the agriculture insurance scheme to be proposed in the next budget", Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA) President Syed Abu Siddique told the FE Saturday. He hoped the investment in this sector would be doubled within the next five to seven years if the government support is ensured. The industry gained 20 per cent growth in the last 15 years, he added. The BPA chief stressed the need for long-term plan to this effect and its effective implementation as well to feed 10 million people to be added in this sector by 2015. Poultry insurance will help improving quality management and encourage new investment in the sector, he added. Mr Siddique said now there are five Grand Parent Stock farms, 40-50 Parent Stock farms and hatcheries, 70,000-80,000 poultry farms and 15-20 poultry feed producing factories in private sector. Medicine and several essential products are being produced in the country though the raw materials are imported. Poultry industry meets majority portion of local demand, claimed Mr Siddique. He said bird-flu outbreak forced nearly 40 per cent out of 150,000 farms to quit production resulting in slashing about 2.0 million direct or indirect jobs. Mr Siddique said the poultry stakeholders make their plea as the attack of avian influenza continues to damage the sector, causing a loss of investments and jobs. The diseases caused by avian influenza cause a loss of about Tk 50 billion since 2007, he pointed out.
Poultry industry operators have urged the government to introduce an insurance scheme to protect the sector from its possible losses due to avian influenza. "We expect the government will include poultry insurance into the agriculture insurance scheme to be proposed in the next budget", Bangladesh Poultry Association (BPA) President Syed Abu Siddique told the FE Saturday. He hoped the investment in this sector would be doubled within the next five to seven years if the government support is ensured. The industry gained 20 per cent growth in the last 15 years, he added. The BPA chief stressed the need for long-term plan to this effect and its effective implementation as well to feed 10 million people to be added in this sector by 2015. Poultry insurance will help improving quality management and encourage new investment in the sector, he added. Mr Siddique said now there are five Grand Parent Stock farms, 40-50 Parent Stock farms and hatcheries, 70,000-80,000 poultry farms and 15-20 poultry feed producing factories in private sector. Medicine and several essential products are being produced in the country though the raw materials are imported. Poultry industry meets majority portion of local demand, claimed Mr Siddique. He said bird-flu outbreak forced nearly 40 per cent out of 150,000 farms to quit production resulting in slashing about 2.0 million direct or indirect jobs. Mr Siddique said the poultry stakeholders make their plea as the attack of avian influenza continues to damage the sector, causing a loss of investments and jobs. The diseases caused by avian influenza cause a loss of about Tk 50 billion since 2007, he pointed out.