Among many others, Abdul Mannan, 48, of Mollapara village under Godagari upazila in Rajshahi has become self-reliant through sheep farming.
With his curiosity Mannan had procured two sheep from one of her neighbours around 10 years back and started its rearing. Now, he has 26 sheep.
In the meantime, he along with many of his co-villagers was imparted a five-day training on intensive sheep farming besides marking it profitable and sustainable by the nearby Demonstration Sheep Farm (DSF).
Mannan said the sheep farming has eradicated his poverty and enhanced his dignity in the society. He gets money, meat and milk from it regularly.
Habiba Khatun, 45, another farmer of the village, is now living in a brick-built house leaving behind their previous thatched one and using sanitary latrine with income of the sheep farming.
After getting technical support from the DSF, she is owner of 60 sheep at present and is happy over the farming as her family members including husband help her to do it cordially.
Khatun said the sheep farming has a vital role towards women empowerment and poverty reduction in the grassroots level. Some of the villagers have started sheep farming commercially, she added.
Akbar Ali, another farmer of Sheikhpur village, said it is needed to ensure proper marketing system for the sheep farmers to encourage and inspire many others.
Established on 20 acres of land in Rajabarihat area under Godagari upazila on December 28, 2014, the DSF has been extending training and other necessary suggestions to the farmers so that they can improve their living and livelihood condition through the farming.
The farm is rearing 116 sheep including 50 females and 10 males at present and it has distributed 140 sheep including 66 females in last 2018-19 fiscal. It has also given training to 60 farmers including 41 females in three batches from August to September, 2014.
Main objective of the farm is to encourage the farmers to set up indigenous and commercial sheep farms in the region.
DSF Manager Sirajul Islam said motivating and inspiring the landless, small and low-income people to attain their self-reliance through sheep farming is another motto of the farm.
He said there is no protein-value difference between the meat of sheep and goat or cattle. Even, sheep meat is enriched with more protein in comparison to goat and cattle.
Sirajul Islam also said sheep is more resistant to disease than other domestic animals. As a whole, the farm is intended to provide need-based training to the distressed and low-income people side by side with distributing sheep among them.
Kolyan Kumar Fouzder, former divisional deputy director of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS), said commercial sheep farming, after using of modern methods and technologies, can be a vital means of meeting up the nutritional demand as well as producing valuable wool to help for developing the wool-based textile in the region.
Wide-ranging promotion of commercial sheep farming can contribute to increase woollen fibre production and produce more meat and milk to meet the country’s nutritional demand.
“Rapid economic growth of the region could be achieved through proper use and maintenance of livestock resources,” Kolyan Kumar said, adding that the issue of improvement and conservation of native sheep in community-based and commercial farms should be given priority for poverty reduction and creating employment opportunities also.
He said the scientists of DLS and Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) have already developed and produced different types of woolen fabrics by using 30 percent sheep produced wool, 30 percent jute and 40 percent cotton.
Currently, Bangladesh is producing about 3,000 tonnes of wool from 34 lakh sheep that are being used in producing blanket, shawl, bed-sheet and some other winter clothing, reports BSS.