Staff Reporter, agricare24.com: Speakers at a roundtable said the government and local poultry industry are working together to ensure antibiotic free poultry meat and egg production. They also urged the authority to ensure proper use of antibiotic for producing the safe and secured foods.

The speakers were speaking at a roundtable on “Poultry for Health Living” told these at the National Press Club in Dhaka on Monday (February 25). The World Poultry Science Association- Bangladesh Branch (WPSA-BB) and Bangladesh Poultry Industries Central Council (BPICC) jointly organized the roundtable.

The speakers said the government’s main three targets are to implement the Vision 2021, graduate Bangladesh to a developing nation by 2024 and fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) targets by 2030. For this reason, only economic development is not only enough rather to ensure secured and nutritious food and establish a healthy nation.

They said the government needs to lay emphasis on improving the poultry industry for growing higher food reducing use of farm land and malnutrition. They also added that if we want to develop a healthy nation, intake of eggs and poultry meat will have to be increased further.

At the meeting, the association leaders informed the audience that a five-day 11th International Poultry Show and Seminar will be held in Dhaka from March 5-9 this year.

As a chief guest, Director General (DG) of the Department of Livestock Services Dr. Hiresh Ranjan Bhowmik said unauthorized selling of antibiotic by the drug shops in the country will have to be banned. We hope the Bangladesh Drug Administration will be cautious on it. “For ensuring safe animal protein and fishes, the government has adopted a law. Besides, we are also working to amend and update the existing Poultry Development Policy,” he said.

Dr. Bhowmik said: “Media reporting on the sale of plastic eggs in the market is nothing but a rumor. There is no existence of plastic eggs in Bangladesh.” For fulfilling the target of SDGs, the government, poultry industry and the small farmers will have to work together. He stressed the need for taking more protein for enriching nutrition level of human body.

WPSA-BB President Shamsul Arefin Khaled said they are working to ensure production of anti-biotic free poultry meat and eggs by 2024. “Only rice intake will not ensure a healthy nation. Taking of eggs on daily basis is very important for establishing a nutritious nation,” Mr. Khaled said.

DG of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) Dr. Nathu Ram Sarker said “Sometimes a section of media reports on the poultry products and eggs based on the incorrect information. Those create panic among the consumers and it refrain them from taking poultry meat and eggs. But every person should take more eggs and meat in the country to became a healthy nation.”

WPSA-BB’s Vice President Yashmin Rahman said it is required to produce 1500 crores eggs, 20 lakhs metric tonnes of poultry meat, 85.80 crores of day-old-chicks and 70-90 lakh metric tonnes of feeds annually in the country by 2021.

“There is no option but to flourish poultry sector in a bid to cut poverty, malnutrition, child and maternal mortality rate, and to ensure a developed rural economy and more employment,” she said. Mrs. Rahman also laid emphasis on making eggs and poultry meat production secured reducing the intake of carbohydrate-concentrate foods.

WPSA General Secretary Md. Mahbub Hassan at the roundtable discussion announced that the “International Poultry Seminar” will be held at the Le Meridian Hotel in Dhaka from March 5-6 and the 11th “International Poultry Show” will be held at Bashundhara Convention City from March 7-9 next. The show will be opened for all visitors.

WPSA-BB Vice-president Zahidul Islam said on the occasion of the Poultry Show, special supplementary and advertisements in the newspaper and media will be published. Besides, egg and chicken selfie contest, poultry cooking contest have already begun.

Some 230 local and international companies with their 800 stalls will take part at the Poultry Show in Dhaka. Visit the webpage: www.wpsa-bb.com or the facebook page: Poultry-Bangladesh for details. After the roundtable on Monday, the WPSA-BB and BPICC distributed T-shirts to the rickshaw-pullers and leaflets to the passerby in front of the National Press Club aimed at improving awareness regarding use of secured poultry eggs and meat.