Socio-Economic Characteristics and Present Scenario of Sheep Farmers at Sherpur District In Bangladesh

Abstract

This study was aimed to investigate the socio-economic characteristics and present scenario of farmers engaged in sheep production at Sherpur district in Bangladesh. Data were primarily collected with a pre-tested interview schedule from the local sheep farmers. Results showed that average family size, male and female ratio and age was 5.58, 3:10, and 45.23 year, respectively. Family size, land size and yearly livestock income was found significant (P<0.01). Most of the farmers belong to primary education (46.70%) and illiterate (30.00%). Maximum numbers of farmers belong to small holder (81.91 decimal of land). The average monthly income and expenditure of farmers was estimated BDT 10123.00 and 11476.00, respectively. The male partner was dominant over female partner in different decision-making process. The co-efficient of family size (-9843.99), land size (404.27) and yearly livestock income (1.02) was significantly different (P<0.05). It is implied that one unit increases of land size and yearly livestock income might help in increasing 404.27 and 1.02 unit in family yearly income, respectively whereas, one unit increase of family size, resulted 9843.99 unit decreases of yearly family income, considering all other variables constant. It is concluded that there is great opportunity to improve livelihood of the small farmers particularly increase family income through sheep farming in the study areas. SAARC J. Agric., 19(1): 185-199 (2021)

Effect of supplementary feeding on the production traits, carcass and meat quality of Jamuna basin lambs

“…The carcass traits and meat quality such as nutritional, physicochemical, sensory and meat color of lamb meat have not been studied yet in Bangladesh. The production of lamb in Bangladesh is practised through traditional feeding and its genetic potential is lower [23]. Therefore, it needs to identify the growth performances, carcass & meat quality of finished lambs at different ages & body weights with different concentrate feeds supplementation with normal grazing.…”

Environmental adaptability, morphometric features with reproductive and productive potentialities of indigenous sheep in Bangladesh

“…There is a vast scope for sheep farming in developing countries like Bangladesh, which may create sustainable opportunities by generating income and finally contributing to the economy of the country. It is one of the most important small ruminants and has great potential to create a meat revolution in Bangladesh through profitable lamb production [ 4 , 22 , 126 ]. Moreover, by producing different diversified products, wool can contribute as a valuable by-product with economic benefits [ 13 , 127 ].…”

“…Sheep are less popular than goats in terms of cultural acceptance due to negative marketing messages about the flavor and quality of their meat [ 52 , 133 ]. Besides that, most farmers did not get loan facilities from any government or private organization as they were small-scale farmers or had inadequate assets to mortgage [ 126 , 133 ]. On the other hand, the genetic improvement of a species is largely dependent on breeding superior animals to produce the next generation.…”

“…Poor health management practices, along with inadequate knowledge and inadequate veterinary and diagnostic services, a lack of vaccine facilities, a high price for medicines, a lack of consciousness, and an effective prevention and control policy, cause economic losses in sheep farming in Bangladesh [ 8 , 110 , 132 ]. Furthermore, marketing strategies are another major obstacle to the smooth development of sheep production in Bangladesh, including a lack of market information, a lower price, and a lack of organized and structured markets for meat and wool [ 126 , 132 ].…”

Effect of grazing and stall feeding on the productive performance, carcass traits and meat quality attributes of Jamuna basin lambs

“…Sheep is the important small ruminant species which is widely distributed throughout the world (FAO, 2008). Good nutrition and management play a significant role on lamb production (Sarker et al, 2017;Sun et al, 2020;Hossain et al, 2021a). During the last twelve years sheep population increased 2.5 times, with annual growth rate of 5% (Murshed et al, 2014;Rana et al, 2014).…”