FSC in Dialog: Livelihood Centered Livestock "Genetic Resource Development at Low Input Farming Conditions of Bangladesh"

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Livestock in Bangladesh is a major component of agriculture and plays vital role in the national economy. However, there is a huge shortage of milk, meat and egg for consumption of 162 million people of the country which could be fulfilled by enhancing the productivity of available diverse animal genetic resources. Low input livestock farming is still dominant in the country and majority of the livestock are indigenous there type irrespective of species.  Gearing farmers’ livelihood in the low input system through productive indigenous breed is a key issue. Indigenous livestock are of low potential in terms of production but they have beneficial characteristics e.g. ability to survive and reproduce in stressful conditions, with low feed input, resistance to many biological maladies and they are still the main genetic resources in the hands of rural farmers. Further, the rural people of this country prefer to rear indigenous livestock for their ease of maintenance, cultural inheritance and for high demand of products. Therefore, development of indigenous livestock appropriate for low input system can be seen as a solution to sustainable livelihood of their keepers. Conservation and sustainable use of indigenous farm animal genetic resources is both global and national mandate. In order to respond to that, both research and development work is underway in Bangladesh and meanwhile some progress has been made. Still, much more effort is required to attain security in animal protein through livestock-agriculture linked multi-faceted education-research partnership approach.