Marginal women generating income through chicken farming

More than 8,500 poor and extreme poor households especially women have developed 214 chicken rearing societies and generating income in the region.

Around 700 Local Service Providers (LSPs) are delivering requisite training, advice and inputs services to the producers on chicken rearing.

Public institutions and agencies also provide extension services to the LSPs. They supply modern technology to the producers through setting demonstration plot for the chicken rearing households in 17 upazilas of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Natore and Pabna districts.

Jamila Begum, 35, wife of a day-laborer, Mominul Islam, is now out of her enduring poverty through household-based chicken rearing.

Jamila, mother of three daughters and a son and a resident of Bargachhi village under Paba upazila of the district, embarked on the mission of achieving self reliance early 2012.

At the preliminary stage, she received training on chicken rearing along with its proper feeding, vaccination and marketing by the LSP.

She told BSS that this year she earned Taka 2,100 after selling eggs and chicken.

Demand and market price of native chicken variety is higher than that of others.

After becoming a part of her 25-member local cooperative society, Jamila enjoys some extra privileges of poultry rearing and marketing.

Elder daughter, Monira Parveen, a student of class nine of her village school, gets all institutional expenses from her mother's earning that encourages her to higher education in the days ahead.

Like Jamila Begum, many other households of the poverty-stricken community are involved in the poultry rearing.

Jeshmin Akhter, local community leader, says all the organized members are very optimistic about improving their living and livelihood condition through the poultry rearing value chain.

The households have acquired knowledge on how to promote the community business after the best uses of the local resources and services.

Talking to BSS, the organized women urged the local service providers to supply modern technology and other requisite facilities to their activities for making the business profitable and sustainable.

"We organize community meeting with assistance of private companies for building awareness about quality products regularly," said Faruque Hossain, an LSP of Charghat.

The LSPs have good collaboration and linkage with line departments and private companies as they establish functional linkage with product based traders, pickers and private companies.

Animal Nutritionist Azizul Islam told BSS that many of the rural households have now become involved in chicken rearing commercially through various GO- NGO level interventions which is a good sign for eradicating rural poverty.

Source: BSS