Duck rearing makes poor women self-reliant in Narsingdi

M.A. Awal, Narsingdi :
A number of ultra poor women living in the char villages of Raipura, Belabo, Shibpur, Monohardi, Polash and Sadar upazilas of Narsingdi district have been able to change their family poverty in the past few years by rearing duck.
The inhabitants of char village are mostly poor people having lost every thing in river and a large number of women in the char land are engaged in rearing duck on commercial basis. On an average there are more then 50 ducks in one family and they are earning an average Tk three to four thousand every month through duck farming.
Morjina Begum a house wife of char Alokbali village under sadar upazila told The that she gets an average 35 to 40 eggs every day from her 100 local ducks and she is now earning Tk six to seven thousand every month. Morjina said like her there are a number of families in the char areas whose only income from poultry bird specially duck. She said the average production of eggs from a local duck is only 100 to120 per year and the meat production is 600 to700 grams But a high yield exotic ducks have the capability to produce about 250 eggs per bird per year and the meat production of one duck is about 1200 to 1500 grams.
While contacted with district livestock officer Hasan Imam said that as the duck rearing can create self employment for the rural poor women and it is the weapon of poverty alleviation. In this, Department of livestock services has already started setting up modern hatchery and breeding farms with high yielding duck at different districts-Bagerhat, Sirajgonj, Bhola, Gapalgang, Hobigang, Kishorgang, Curigroam, Madaripur, Magura, Mymensing, Natrocona, Nilphamari and Patukhali.
Morjina and a numbers of poor women in the char villages appeal to the government for set up a modern dick breading farms in the char areas of Narsingdi district.