The flourishing dairy farms have turned Kashimpur into a milk village producing over 5,000 litres of milk daily changing fortune and living standard of local people in last ten years.
Kashimpur village, located in Mithipur union near Pirganj municipal town of the Rangpur district, is inhabited by around 2,000 people, mostly small and marginal farmers, unemployed youths and women.
Talking to BSS, Mithipur union parisahd Chairman SM Faruk Ahmed said Kashimpur villager initially started rearing cows in a sporadic manner about a decade ago.
“With continuous success achieved by some villagers, their neighbours started to follow their footsteps to rear cows,” Ahmed said.
Some successful villagers established dairy farms when production of milk started increasing rapidly attracting attention of officials of Pirganj Upazila Department of Livestock (DLS) and Department of Youth Development (DYD).
“Now, Kashimpur is well-known as a milk village where local residents have made a transformational change winning poverty through setting up dairy farms almost at every house,” Ahmed added.
Officials of Pirganj upazila DLS said there are 74 dairy farms in the village where local villagers are producing over 5,000 litres of milk daily on an average.
The upazila DLS and DYD are providing necessary training, advice, medical care, technologies for modern diary farming diary farming and loans to further inspiring the villagers in rearing cows.
“After entering Kashimpur village, anyone can see dairy farms full of Friesian, ‘Shahiwal’, Holston, Jersey and other specifies of cows those give huge quantity of milk,” Pirganj Upazila Livestock Officer Dr. Md. Tazul Islam told BSS.
Every family of the village has at least three to seven milk-giving cows. The affluent families have 10 to 50 cows each. Many families daily sell up to 300 litres of milk.
The villagers are selling the produced milk daily to BRAC Chilling Centre at nearby Polashbari upazila of Gaibandha, local Milk Vita Milk Purchasing Centre, hotels and markets.
“The villagers have cultivated hybrid varieties of grasses like Napier, ‘Pakchung’, sweet jumbo and maize on 14 acres of land for livestock feed,” Dr. Islam added.
Mayor of Pirganj municipality Tazimul Islam Shamim said Kashimpur village looks like a pasture where all men and women remain busy in cutting grasses and straws and taking care of their cows.
“The local rural roads wear a charming look when many villagers are seen going on bicycles, motorcycles or van-carts with milk to milk purchasing centres,” Shamim said adding that rearing of cows has changed fortune of every family in the village.
Talking to BSS, dairy farmers Chand Mian, Sheikh Sadi, Javed Ali, Quader Mian and Dildar Hossain of Kashimpur village narrated their success stories in changing fortune through rearing cows and setting up dairy farms.
“I started my dairy farm with one Friesian cow around ten years back,’ said Chand Mian, a father of three children.
“With continuous support of the DLS and DYD, I have expanded my diary farm and have 16 milk-giving cows and 12 heifers,” he said adding that he sells 200 litres of milk daily at rates between Taka 35 to Taka 40 per litre.
He has cultivated Napier grass on two acres of land. Besides, he spends Taka 3,500 to Taka 4,000 daily for purchasing fodders for cattle-heads.
“My monthly net profit stands around Taka one-lakh,” Chand Mian said adding that he has married off his only daughter Shakila spending a good amount of money amid huge festivity.
His eldest son, Shaheen, 25, already got married and younger son Swadhin, 12, studies in class six.
“My wife Shahana, along with me, looks after our dairy farm,” Chand Mian said adding that he has purchased two acres of cultivable land, taken 2.50 acres of land on lease and built a new house.
Like Chand Mian, dairy farms have changed fortune of many families, including Sadek Ali, Wazed Ali, Aiyub Ali, Zaved Mian, Sabur Ali, Musa Mian, Echha Mian and Elias Ali of Kashimpur village.
District Livestock Officer Dr. Shah Jamal Khondker said Kashimpur villagers have set up a glaring example of enhancing milk production to meet nourishment of the population along with achieving self-reliance.
