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Despite continued growth and huge prospects of the livestock sector, financing by banks to boost investment in farming remains low.
Dairy, poultry and other livestock farmers got 14 per cent of total Tk 26,500 crore loans disbursed by banks for the farm sector in the fiscal year 2020-21.
The amount of loan going to marginal farmers from financial institutions is very low. There is also an absence of livestock insurance, said Md Ainul Haque, former director general of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) in a paper at a seminar organised by Adorsho Pranisheba Ltd at a hotel in the city yesterday.
He said the livestock sector, which accounts for 1.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and involves 20 per cent of the population, has grown as reflected in increased production of meat and milk.
For instance, milk production which was 50 lakh tonnes in the year 2021, increased to 130 lakh tonnes in the year 2021. Meat production shot up three times to 92.65 lakh tonnes in the year 2021 from a decade ago, according to an estimate by the DLS.
He said investment in the sector is needed to boost production of meat and milk and reduce import dependence, create jobs and ensure increased availability of animal protein, namely milk.
“We are lagging behind others in milk production,” he said, adding that per capita availability of milk is 208 millilitres whereas per capita availability is 642ml in Australia.
More than one lakh tonnes of powdered milk and dairy products are imported every year, which cost around Tk 2,000 crore annually, added Haque.
He said procedural complexity and problems in arranging collaterals by farmers, risk of disease infection and mortality of animals and absence of livestock insurance are major factors affecting financial inclusion of the sector.
Haque demanded easy and cheap loans for livestock producers and ensured lending to real farmers. Livestock can be used as collateral instead of land, he said.
At the event, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said real farmers should be given loans without collateral and on easy terms.
He said the government has created a window for farmers to borrow at 4 per cent interest rate.
But farmers are often unable to meet the difficult conditions that exist in getting loans. That’s why the lending process needs to be made easier, he said.
Razzaque said price of a cow is between Tk 5 lakh – Tk 10 lakh.
He said livestock should be brought under insurance. However, the problem is people do not have confidence on insurance companies. They harass and cheat customer extensively. Insurance should be made customer-friendly by stopping this harassment and cheating, he said.
He also talked about the recent price hike of eggs and said prices of the protein item will decline. “This is temporary,” he said.
(TDS)
