Mintu Abdur Rahman, Rangpur :
A good number of extreme poor people living in different char areas under Rangpur district are getting financially solvent through rearing goats and sheep in recent years.
The char people said they gather grass and other fodder for their livestock from the char areas. But during rainy season they face difficulties to collect fodder. They use stocked fodder for their domestic animals during monsoon, they added.Shahid Mia alias Vola, a sheep rearer at Char Thakurdas village under Kawnia upazila said, he first started sheep rearing with only one pair of sheep around ten years before.
Since then he has been rearing sheep and earning handsome profit. So far he sold some 30 to 32 sheep and now he has 25 sheep. He spent around Tk 40,000 at his daughter’s marriage last year which he earned from the sale of sheep, he added.
Moshrefa Begum (35), of Char Mahipur at Gangachara upazila said earlier, it was so difficult to maintain their insolvent family of six members with her husband’s paltry income who was a day labourer.
With the aim to salvage her family she began goat rearing and witnessed remarkable success. At the initial stage she had only two goats six years ago and presently she has 15 goats and earns around Tk 30,000 to Tk 40,000 from selling goats every year. District Livestock Office sources said thousands of families at different charareas under the district rear different domestic animals including sheep and goats. Livestock officials visit char areas and provide adequate support to the char people for rearing domestic animals properly, sources also said.
