The 11th International Poultry Show and Seminar is going to be held in the city from March 05, aiming to ensure antibiotic-free safe poultry foods.
It was disclosed at a roundtable titled "Poultry for Health Living", organised jointly by the World Poultry Science Association - Bangladesh Branch (WPSA-BB) and Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council (BPICC), at the National Press Club in the capital on Monday, said a release.
The seminar will be held at the Le Meridian hotel from March 05 to 06 and the three-day poultry show will begin on March 07 at Bashundhara Convention City, according to the organisers.
Some 230 local and international companies with their 800 stalls will take part at the show.
Addressing the meeting, speakers said the government and local poultry industry were working together to ensure antibiotic-free poultry meat and egg production.
The poultry industry urged the government to ensure proper use of antibiotic for producing safe and secured food.
Director General (DG) of the Department of Livestock Services Dr Hiresh Ranjan Bhowmik while speaking as the chief guest said unauthorised sales of antibiotic by the drug shops in the country will have to be banned.
"We hope the Bangladesh Drug Administration will be cautious about it," he said.
"For ensuring safe animal protein and fish, the government has enacted a new law. Besides, we are also working to amend and update the existing Poultry Development Policy," he said.
WPSA-BB's Vice President Yashmin Rahman said the country will require 15 billion pieces of eggs, 2.0 million tonnes of poultry meat, 858 million pieces of day-old-chicks and 7.0-9.0 million tonnes of feeds annually by 2021.
"There is no option but to flourish poultry sector to reduce poverty, malnutrition, child and maternal mortality rates, and to ensure a developed rural economy with more employment," she said.
WPSA-BB President Shamsul Arefin Khaled said the government's three key targets are implementing the Vision 2021, lifting Bangladesh to a developing nation by 2024 and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) targets by 2030.
Director General of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) Dr Nathu Ram Sarker and WPSA General Secretary Md Mahbub Hassan also spoke, among others.
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