Heatwave, load-shedding put livestock farmers in tight spot

Livestock and poultry farmers are facing a double blow as the ongoing heatwave is putting their animals at risk of heatstroke and the effort to keep them cool amid prolonged load shedding is amplifying their operating costs.

Amanullah Munshi's farm in Feni has 2,500 chickens in two sheds. Dozens of chickens have been dying on his farm every day for the past week due to 16-17 hours of load shedding.

Fearing his farm may run out of chickens, Mushi said the condition is bad, every day chickens are dying of heatstroke. He cannot even use fans to cool them off due to heavy load shedding and no generator.

Suman Howladar, president of the Bangladesh Poultry Association, told The Business Standard that chickens are dying in large numbers at small and medium-sized farms across the country. 

"The main reason for this is load shedding. If this persists, small farmers will not survive," he said.

Small and medium farmers across the country are in the same situation as Munshi, causing a reduction in meat production in the country. 

This is forcing farmers not to produce new chicks, resulting in its price to drop.

Farmers said those using generators have to buy extra fuel worth Tk1,500-Tk1,800 per day.

Md Suman, a poultry farmer in Narsingdi said he is having a hard time keeping his chickens alive even by using generators in load shedding.

Faced with 18 hours of load shedding a day, Suman said he is spending Tk1,800 each day on fuel.

Ramzan Ali, a poultry consultant in Narsingdi said most of the chicken deaths are because of excessive heat.

"Temperature above 30 degrees Celsius is a problem for poultry. On top of that, when there is load shedding, small farmers can not cope," he said.

Abu Lutfe Fazle Rahim Khan, managing director of Aftab Bahumukhi Farms Limited told TBS Bangladesh's poultry sector is going through unprecedented challenges for the last few years. 

"We expect that the government will come up with a comprehensive policy for rescuing this sector. Special attention is needed by the highest authority of the country. Hope we will get this attention and the sector will rebound soon," he added.

Lovestock ahead of Eid-ul-Azha 

Meanwhile, with less than a month left before Eid-ul-Azha, farmers are desperately trying to keep their livestock healthy.

They have to rely on generators for regular use of fans and electricity. In doing so, the cost is increasing.

Although there are no reports of cows and goats dying, cattle farmers are forced to spend extra on generators.

Due to this, livestock farmers said the price of fattened cows in the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha may increase by 20%.

Kazi Mohammad Abu Sufian, managing director of Ashulia's Shikar Agro Farm, told TBS that "Cows need to be fanned regularly, which we cannot do due to constant load shedding."

Running generators for a large part of the day is adding to their operating cost, he added.

The chances of cows having a heatstroke have increased several times due to excessive heat, he said. "To handle the situation, we have to hire additional manpower on the farm."

Savar Upazila Animal Resources Officer Md Sajedul Islam told TBS that farmers are forced to manage the situation with generators, resulting in an overall 15%-20% cost increase.

"Many farmers keep animals for Eid-ul-Adha sales, so this additional cost will affect the price of these animals in the market," he added.

Large farms

Industrial-grade broilers, feed and chicken producers are facing the heat as well.

The entrepreneurs of the sector said due to load shedding and reduced demand, the production of feed decreased by more than one lakh tonnes in May alone.

On average, more than 4.5 lakh tonnes of food is needed every month in large chicken, chicken and cow-goat farms, they mentioned.

The managing director of a leading feed mill and poultry production company told TBS that it is very difficult to run a feed mill with 14-hour load shedding.

In this situation, the cost of producing chicks has doubled, but the price has dropped, he said, adding "The price of chicks has fallen below the cost of production and is now selling between Tk15-Tk25