Desk Report:
State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salahuddin Tuku said that the government is working to increase the capacity of marginal farmers and entrepreneurs in the country and develop the livestock sector as per the election pledge.
He said these things while speaking as the chief guest at the inauguration of the Entrepreneur Motivation Training for Commercial Buffalo Farming organized at the conference room of the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute on Monday (March 9, 2026).
The State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock said that the government has taken initiatives to ensure the production and supply of safe and quality animal feed, provide training to farmers at the upazila level, provide necessary medicines and quality medical services.
He said that the government’s goal is to increase the growth of the poultry and dairy sectors, make protein-rich food easily available to the people of rural areas, and turn this sector into an industry. The government is working to increase the capacity of marginal farmers by encouraging women entrepreneurs and strengthening the vaccination program.
The State Minister said that to meet the country’s protein needs, emphasis is being placed on expanding buffalo farming along with the poultry and dairy sectors. Buffalo meat is nutritious and can also play an important role in milk production. For this reason, training and support are being provided to entrepreneurs to increase their interest in buffalo farming.
He said that since buffaloes are more capable of producing milk than cows, the number of buffaloes and farms need to be increased and people’s interest in this matter needs to be increased. To develop the agriculture and livestock sector and provide support to farmers, the government is already starting the process of distributing farmers’ cards among farmers and ranchers.
The State Minister also said that if a database of trained farmers is created, it will be easier to provide them with various government assistance in the future and they will be able to make an important contribution to the country’s economy by increasing the size of their farms. It is necessary to strengthen research activities and ensure adequate budget in this sector so that the productivity of the livestock sector increases further.
Director General of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute Dr. Shakila Faruk presided over the program. Senior officials of the institute and farmers including the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock were present at the time.
Earlier, the State Minister inspected various research activities of the institute. Responding to questions from journalists at the time, he said that it is possible to create new possibilities for milk and meat production by increasing buffalo breeding and production in the country.
He said that although buffalo is a major source of milk production in neighboring countries, Bangladesh is still lagging behind in this sector. Therefore, initiatives are being taken to expand buffalo breeding through collection of improved breeds of buffalo, distribution among calf farmers and training.
