Policies and institutions for poultry and dairy development in Bangladesh

There are large economics of scale in processing and retailing livestock-origin food products, but much less in production once market distortions favouring large producers are either removed or otherwise balanced for smaller farmers through market-oriented means. In order to understand these underlying issues for smallholder market oriented livestock Development, a project funded by the System wide Livestock Programme of the CGIAR on policy and scale factors affecting livestock producers in Kenya, Bangladesh and the Philippines was implemented during 2000-2002 jointly by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the International Food Policy Institute (IFPRI). In Bangladesh, the study focused on poultry and dairy producers and was implemented in collaboration with the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur, Bangladesh. As a part of the Bangladesh project, a dialogue/workshop involving various stakeholders (extension, input and vet service providers, credit and marketing institutions/agencies, private sector investors, donor agencies etc.) was held in Dhaka, at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, on 13-14 October 2002 jointly sponsored by the Department of Livestock Services, BSMR Agricultural University, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, ILRI, and IFPRI. This paper addresses the issues related to the Development of the livestock sector. These are summarised under three headings. A) Fundamental choices in a rapidly changing world; B) What are the true costs of different options; and C) Some compelling sets of issues for informing public policy through research. The following questions were also answered on the discussion. What vision of the role of livestock in the economy? What vision of the role of the Department of Livestock Services over time? What are the necessary "Public goods" in the Bangladesh livestock sector at the present time? What are the true costs of targeting the poor? What input should the livestock sector have into public policy? What forward vision for feed supplies? What impact of policies towards private processors on structure of production and marketing? What information needs in the sector, how best to meet? How best to encourage the mobilization of private resources to develop the sector? Given demonstrated economics of scale in processing and some in production, how best to bring smallholder along, without subsidies that government cannot afford? and how best to encourage formal sector processors and producers to bring smallholder sector along with them in Development of commercial livestock production?