Draught animal power (DAP) in Bangladesh
1992
Shamsul Islam, A.W.M.(Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh (Bangladesh). Faculty of Veterinary Science)
There are about 23 million cattle and buffaloes in Bangladesh of which about 11 million are available for draught purposes and they provide about 98-99 percent of the total DP in the country. Due to poor economic condition of the farmers associated with extensive, scattered and fragmented land holdings and also due to its negative effect on employment, mechanised cultivation would have major adverse consequences. Accordingly DAP will continue to play a crucial role in Bangladesh agriculture. To meet these needs there is a need for expanded research and the planning of national development strategies for the present and the future. At present DA numbers are estimated to be 30 percent below national requirements and their distribution within the country is uneven. Out of 10 million farm households, 76.2 percent owned cattle. It was observed that of these, 25 percent of farmers used cows as DA, 50 percent had 2 or more DA and 10 percent had only one DA. It was also observed that the draught power supply situation varied from village to village as well as among farmer groups. Under present socio-economic conditions and scattered land holdings priority should be given to the improvement of DAP both quantitatively and qualitatively through a proper feed supply, proper animal care and improvement of draught power technology. Present subsidies on imported tractors and power tillers should be withdrawn and slaughtering of young stock restricted in order to increase DA supplies. Support for breeding programmes should be extended. More training and education programmes need to be undertaken to create greater awareness of DAP utilisation whilst single animal ploughing should be popularised.
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