The study was conducted to identify the socio-economic status and problems faced by the Sonali farmers at Wazirpur Upazila in Barishal District. A total of 90 respondents from 9 unions were selected randomly for primary data collection. The farmers and their farming were evaluated through the analysis of data collected in a pre-structured questionnaire. This study revealed that a maximum portion of the farmers were middle-aged (52.2%), male (92.2%), and had a secondary level of education (54.4%). Most farmers had medium-sized farm (38.9%) and invested their own capital in farming (54.9%). Although major farmers had low experience in Sonali chicken farming, they had high management skills (63.9%). In terms of occupation, the highest percentage of farmers (38.9%) had a conjugated occupation of poultry and crop. Most of the farmers had their own tube-well (74.7%) and use sanitary latrine (71.1%). Nevertheless, only 17% of the farmers had good health condition. About 49% of the farmers had only one chicken house, and 87.8% followed the floor system for rearing Sonali chicken. Surprisingly, all the farms followed an all-in-all-out marketing system for Sonali chicken. Most of the farmers (96.7%) vaccinated their poultry birds and added coccidiostat (73.3%) and vitamin mineral premix (94.4%) to the feed. A major portion of the farmers identified the irregular fluctuation in the market price of feeds (95.6%) and day-old chicks (93.3%) as severe problem, followed by high price of feed but low price of meat (87.8%). A disorganized marketing channel was the next major problem faced by the poultry farmers (83.3%). Taken together, the Sonali farmers of Barishal were middle-aged; poorly educated, and invested their own capital for farming, and they faced a variety of challenges during farming and marketing their chickens. To enhance Sonali farmers’ socio-economic conditions and alleviate their problems, the government should take appropriate steps to provide finance and farm-based training, including modern animal husbandry practices. Bangladesh Journal of Animal Science. 2022. 51 (1): 1-11
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.