Tuku calls for action against antibiotic misuse in poultry

State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku has stressed the need to prevent the misuse of antibiotics in poultry to reduce production costs and ensure quality protein for consumers.

“It is essential to take a coordinated approach with poultry farm owners, feed producers and the government to reduce poultry production cost and to ensure quality food for the consumers,” he said.

Tuku made the remarks as the chief guest at a workshop titled “Implementation of Fish Feed and Animal Feed Act, 2010 and enforcing quality control” at the PTI auditorium in Gazipur Sadar on Thursday.

He said effective coordination among the stakeholders would make poultry farming profitable while ensuring a cost-effective supply of safe protein to consumers.

The state minister said marginal farmers were the core driving force behind the progress of the country’s poultry and livestock sector.

The government’s main objective was to support marginal farmers and create new entrepreneurs in the sector, he said.

To this end, farmers had been brought under the farmer card system so they could access easy credit facilities like agriculture, electricity rebates and government incentives, Tuku said.

On excessive antibiotic use, he said unnecessary use of antibiotics was putting food security at risk while also increasing production costs.

He called on livestock officials to work more actively at the grassroots level to raise farmers’ awareness about the use of drugs and sustainable scientific production practices.

“The government wants to keep the production cost at tolerable level so that the consumers can get safe food in fare price,” he told the workshop.

Describing the poultry industry as a highly potential sector, Tuku said Bangladesh was already exporting hatching eggs, which he described as a positive advancement for the sector.

The government was working to increase exports of animal products to international markets while meeting domestic demand, he added.

He also stressed creating new entrepreneurs to generate employment and strengthen the rural economy.

Regarding the allegation of horse meat being sold in Gazipur, Tuku said the government was fully aware of the allegation and that the concerned authorities and law enforcement agencies would take necessary action.

Fisheries and Livestock Secretary M Delwar Hossain attended the programme as the special guest, while Gazipur Deputy Commissioner M Nurul Karim Bhuiyan presided.

District Livestock Office organised the workshop.
Director General of the Department of Livestock Services (DLS) M Shahjahan Khan also addressed the programme.