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BOGURA, Nov 17: Bogura - the district best known for its agricultural machineries- has now seen a boom in the local poultry industry, stemming from the vigorous growth of its other traditional businesses.
The northern district has now emerged as a thriving poultry hub, where thousands of farms, hatcheries and feed mills have been set up and establishment of many more is also in the pipeline.
Across Bogura, more than 10,000 poultry farms are now in operation producing mostly Sonali, Mishori (Egypt) and other similar varieties of chicken, supported by 11 feed factories and 83 hatcheries.
The district's poultry industry which sees daily transactions of Tk400 million employs some 250,000 people directly or indirectly.
Namjogor on Shantahar Road - widely known as Bogura's poultry hub - has around 300 to 400 shops which sell thousands of chicks, eggs, cages, and poultry feed daily.
In recent years, about 1,200 farms specialising in such type of chicken breeds have been established.
Nine hatcheries now produce around 85,000 native chicks a month, while farms rearing poultry through organic methods generate roughly 4,000 kilogrammes of meat and 130,000 eggs monthly.
"The demand for Sonali and similar varieties of chicken is soaring in Dhaka and other cities," said Nurul Amin, president of the Bogura District Poultry Owners' Association.
"Every day, around 30,000 to 35,000 chickens are sent to the capital."
Each night, dozens of small trucks loaded with cages of birds set off from Bogura's local markets toward Dhaka - a scene many residents describe as a symbol of the district's newfound economic vibrancy.
The poultry zone stretching across Bogura and nearby areas has become one of Bangladesh's
most significant centres for chick and feed production. Every day, the region produces between 1.6 and 2.o million one-day-old Sonali chicks.
Annually, farms in the district produce about 200,000 tonnes of chicken meat and roughly 400 million eggs - meeting nearly half the country's total protein demand.
However, industry insiders said rising costs of feed, medicines, and vitamins are squeezing farmers' profits.
The district's annual egg output has fallen from 671 million pieces to 565 million over the past three years, largely due to closure of many farms.
Md. Abu Taiyeb, owner of TR Poultry and Hatchery, recalled starting small business in 2003: "I began by bringing chicks from Dhaka and Goalanda. Business really took off from 2010, and today over a hundred shops here sell chicks every day."
Md. Ziaul Haque, proprietor of Zarif Poultry and Hatchery, estimated that daily chick sales in Namjogor amount to Tk4-5 million, while feed sales are even higher.
"Bogura consumes about 5,000 to 6,000 tonnes of broiler feed and 1,200 tonnes of layer feed each month," he said, calling for stronger monitoring to ensure quality feed production.
Industry leaders say that about 80 per cent of raw materials for feed are imported, pushing production costs up.
Weak market management, inconsistent demand and supply, and the repeated price hikes of feed and medicines have also hurt farm sustainability.
When contacted, Dr Kazi Ashraful Islam, district livestock officer, said demand for Sonali chicken remains high, prompting the Livestock Department to step up training and technical support for new entrepreneurs.
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