Gaibandha farmer makes cattle feed out of banana stems

GAIBANDHA, Nov 20: A farmer of remote Hazirhat in Sundarganj has been using banana plant's stems, or portions forming the trunk-like structure, to produce a new processed fodder item for cattle, and addressing feed shortage in the area.

The fodder from banana stalks are as cost effective as it is frugal, on the backdrop of the plant flowering and bearing fruit only once.

Hazirhat is a remote char area, where people's lives are marred by poverty. Farmer Ayub Mia's economic condition is no different. The cost of his work is high and the income, low. Modern agro technology did not come to his aid until a non-governmental organisation (NGO), SKS Foundation, supported him with a stem crushing machine and necessary materials to turn the table of his fortune around.

Ayub Mia said he can now feed his cattle daily and give away the surplus of the processed feed to other growers. He hopes to become self-reliant one day with the feed he has been producing.

He said after collecting the banana plants following harvest, stems are given to the machine in small pieces, discarding the leaves and other portions of the plant. The crushed stalks are then dried in the sun to prepare for sale in containers mixing with husk, water and salt. Ayub Mia also said per kg of hay produced from the stalks are sold at Tk 35 and each plant provides two to seven kg of hay.

Ayub Ali further said, "Earlier, I had to worry about cow feed. Now, I am making fodder from the banana plants. This reduces costs and the cows are also healthy. I hope that I will be able to support my family through this work in the future."

The villagers said processing banana stems as fodder is a new opportunity for the interested youth in the char areas.

Anisul Haque, a field worker of the SKS Foundation's 'Pradripta Project', told the FE, "Ayub Ali was given a haylage making machine and necessary materials worth Tk 72,000."

"Even if people get food during natural disasters -- such as floods in the char areas -- it becomes difficult to get feed for cows," he also said, adding that the fodder will be useful at those times of crisis. Other field workers of the project said such an initiative will

contribute to the socio-economic development of not only a family, but the entire area.

They also said advancing the care of domesticated animals by using locally available ingredients for sustainable agriculture is the need of the hour. According to Gaibandha District Livestock Officer Dr. Md. Abdur Razzak,

shortages can be alliviated to some extent with the initiative of producing feed from banana plant's stem. The officer suggested spreading this initiative across the country.

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