Sacrificial animals to be sold online

The department of livestock in Khulna has taken initiative to sell sacrificial animal through online to help the marginal cattle farmers in different upazilas of the district who are in dire straits due to coronavirus spread ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, reports BSS.

This year the cattle farmers are in trouble as the novel coronavirus has become an epidemic in the southwestern district. The marginal farmers are fearing that they may not get fair price of their cattle as the price of each cattle is decreasing day by day amid the pandemic.

District livestock officer S M Awal Haque said most of the sacrificial animals from different farms of the district have been kept ready for sale in the market. But due to the deadly virus outbreak, the farmers are facing a 'dangerous' situation.

"We are talking with other government departments to create an online or virtual cattle market to sell sacrificial animals", he informed.

He said "In previous years, a farmer used to earn profit of Tk 25,000 to Tk 50,000 per cow. This time the profit might become much less than that".

He however said, "We are taking preparation to sell sacrificial animals through online platform by next week".

In previous years, 99 per cent of the total demand for sacrificial animals in Khulna was met by the local farmers. This year, they are rearing cows, goats and sheep to meet the demand of the buyers.

However, as the virus situation is worsening, it seems that 40 to 50 per cent people will not buy sacrificial animals this year. As a result, farmers are less likely to sell their animals, he anticipated.

According to the district livestock office, there are a total of 6,890 cattle farms in Khulna. The largest number of farms are in Terokhada, Dumuria and Batiaghata upazilas. There is a total of 45,148 cattle in these farms. Of these, 40,968 are cows and 4,180 are goats and sheep.

Farm owners estimated that the loss per cow would be multiplied by Tk 10 to 15 thousand compared to the cost of raising the cattle. If this situation continues, many people will be forced to close their farms in a few days, they feared.