Poultry expands Joypurhat’s agro economic horizon

Joypurhat, a district primarily reliant on agriculture, now produces more eggs than it requires, creating new employment opportunities.

With various government and private initiatives, the scope of the district's agricultural economy is expanding.

Currently, the district hosts 651 layer (egg-producing) poultry farms, producing around 31 crore eggs annually, compared to a local demand of about 9 crore 94 lakh eggs. The market value of these eggs in the district exceeds Tk300 crore.

After fulfilling local demand, over 200 crore eggs are supplied to other areas. The poultry industry directly and indirectly employs over 2,50,000 people in the district.

Manjurul Islam of Jamalganj, an entrepreneur in Joypurhat sadar upazila, said that his farm has around 8,000 chickens and produces about 3,500 eggs daily. Recent sales have exceeded Tk10 per egg.

However, Manjurul said that the rising costs of feed and medicine due to a lack of price control are impacting the egg market, making it challenging to maintain stable prices.

Anisur Rahman, who has managed Manjurul's three-story farm for 22 years, said that hybrid chickens start laying eggs at 140 days and continue for about 18 months. Afterwards, the chickens are sold in the market at Tk240 to 250 per kg.

Several farmers involved in egg production said that the rising cost of feed has pushed production costs over Tk9 per egg, with retail prices reaching Tk12.

The poultry industry in Joypurhat saw substantial growth after 2000, transforming Jamalganj in Joypurhat into a hub for poultry farming. While other large-scale industries have not developed, the poultry sector witnesses daily transactions worth Tk4 crore to Tk4.5 crore.

Many educated young people are now joining the sector, such as Delwar Hossain from Madarganj in Joypurhat, who owns a farm with 2,000 egg-laying chickens.

Delwar said that the long-standing success of poultry farming has led to what can be described as a poultry revolution in the district. As a result, many people here have chosen it as their livelihood. "We are also receiving various types of training from both the government and private sectors on safe methods for egg marketing," he said.

To support safe and sustainable poultry development, the Joypurhat-based NGO JAKAS Foundation, funded by organisations such as IFAD, PKSF, and DANIDA, is working on modern, business-friendly methods.

Through the Rural Micro Enterprise Transformation Project (RMTP), JAKAS collaborates with over 10,000 people involved in poultry farming to ensure sustainable practices.

JAKAS Executive Director Md Nurul Amin said that their initiative aims to establish a sustainable market for safe products.

A company named Green Harvest Meat has been established in the district to sell safely produced chicken meat and eggs.

Shahidul Islam, the company's manager, said that they source products from 60 to 70 farms that use safe methods to produce meat and eggs. These products are supplied to the local market as well as the Unimart chain shop in the capital.

Shahidul added that they have been supplying eggs and chicken meat to Unimart for about a year.

Rasheduzzaman, who left a corporate job to start an egg business, supplies approximately 10 truckloads of eggs monthly to Dhaka from 16 different farms, a business that has thrived with JAKAS' networking support.

Joypurhat has also developed significant infrastructure for Sonali chicken farms, including over 50 hatcheries and 10 feed mills. Annually, about 10 crore chicks are produced from eggs, meeting the local demand of 6 crore and supplying the surplus to other areas. This growth is creating numerous job opportunities in the area.

To promote safe and sustainable food production nationwide, PKSF's RMTP project now supports 86,555 people across 12 districts.

PKSF's Acting Managing Director Md Fazlul Kader said, "Many people are now producing food through safe methods. We hope that everyone in the country will produce safe products. This will bring a fundamental change to the market. We anticipate a positive shift toward safe food production, which will lead to a sustainable agricultural system."

Md Mohir Uddin, Joypurhat district livestock officer, said that poultry farming has created jobs for hundreds of thousands. By fostering new entrepreneurs, the district's safe egg and meat production is gaining consumer acceptance nationwide. Working alongside farmers, the district aims to build a sustainable, secure food production system that will benefit the local population for years to come.