Experts Wednesday at a programme said that 'varietal development' of local livestock species is needed to meet the increasing demand for protein in the country.
They said Bangladesh's per capita milk and meat consumption is six to five times lower than the benchmark set by the WHO.
This was disclosed at the inauguration of the two-day long workshop titled 'improving animal genetic resource value and productive performance in Asia" organised by Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI), held at a city hotel.
Experts from the member countries of Asian Food and Agricultural Cooperation Initiatives (AFACI) are participating in the workshop which will end today (Thursday).
Fisheries and livestock minister Md. Sayedul Haque as the chief guest inaugurated the workshop while director of BLRI Dr Md Najrul Islam chaired the programme.
Executive chairman of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Dr Kamal Uddin, South Korean Rural Development Administration director Dr Cho Young Moo among others spoke.
Prof Dr Fazlul Hoque Bhuiyan, Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) presented the keynote which revealed that cattle density [number of cattle in per square kilometer (skm) area] in Bangladesh is larger than India or Pakistan but production of meat and milk are not satisfactory compared with huge numbers of animals.
The paper showed that Bangladesh has 145 cows in per skm which is 90 in India and 70 in Pakistan.
"But Bangladeshi cow produces 250 litres of milk annually which are 500 and 800 litres in India and Pakistan respectively," the paper showed.
The keynote showed that Bangladesh's per capita consumption of milk is 39 milli litres (ml) against demand of 250 ml while a Bangladeshi can get meat 24 gram against requirement of 120 gram prescribed by World Health Organisation (WHO).
The paper suggested increasing the number of skilled manpower in livestock sector.
It also emphasised on cooperatives, breeder associations, and research institutions with the government help to develop local livestock varieties.
The minister said that Bangladesh has a vast diversity in livestock and this diversity has made the country a unique one.
He said the varietal development can make the livestock sector vibrant and development of local varieties could help meet the demand for proteins in the country.
The AFACI was formed in 2009. Its member countries are Bangladesh, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
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