According to an estimate, the import of milk powder in Bangladesh has increased some 30 per cent in the last four years. Regularly, a large sum of precious foreign resources get drained away on such import. This amount could be easily saved if policy planners did not take casually the need to boost the local dairy sector.
Governments till the mid-nineties had policies going to systematically encourage local dairies. The interest started flagging after this period that has gradually turned Bangladesh into a paradise for overseas milk powder suppliers. They have established a big and impressive network to market their milk in powder form in this country when there is every reason to think that consumers are in no way amply nourished by milk powder as they would be if they could drink locally produced liquid and wholesome milk.
But Bangladesh with its predominant number of rural people , its agrarian characteristics, plus the traditional pastoral experience of rearing cows, should normally have comparative advantages in producing ample milk and milk products. Planned efforts are necessary to develop the dairy sector.
If the dairy industry here develops fast and properly, then several useful ends can be served. First of all, it would mean import substitution and substantial saving of resources. The saved amount would help the balance of payments. The nutrition picture of the country could change positively with significantly increased consumption of fresher milk in liquid form
An improved and enlarged local dairy industry will also create employment opportunities in various ways where it matters the greatest— at grassroots level. From greater availability of cows, different sorts of industries will be facilitated. For example, more cow hides will be available for the tanneries and leather industries. The import of cows from India for sacrificial purposes will drastically decline or cease which also would help the country’s balance of payments. The availability of locally produced meat would rise helping greater protein consumption by the population. No part of the cow is wasted. Even its horns and bones are used by cottage industries to make button, combs and related products. There can be also other spin-offs such as cow dung to be used as fuel or as raw material to increase production of bio-gas to help lighting, heating and cooking in the rural areas.
But for all of these activities to be boosted, the first step needs to be encouraging specially the rural people to rear cows. It appears that institutional credits specifically for the purpose are not enough. Government can adopt a policy in this regard and have it implemented very extensively and efficiently through the Krishi Bank and other mediums to provide credits to persons willing to rear cows in the rural areas on easy terms. This would surely be a big stimulus for cow rearing as rural people will be encouraged to go for a good source of earning on the side.
Government should also help out in the development and sustaining of a growing dairy industry through research activities and breeding of healthier species of cows. It is obvious that rural small producers of dairy products on their own will never have the resources to invest in such projects. But the government should have the resources to invest in such projects. Healthier species of cows can be bred in these projects and sold to privately operated diaries. Government should aim to run such projects with the aim of breaking even in the areas of cost or making only a small profit.
Side by side, the government conducted veterinary services throughout the country will have to be expanded and much revamped as supportive of the growing dairy enterprises. Inadequate veterinary services are one of the major obstacles for livestock development.
In rural Bangladesh, almost two out of every three households rear cattle to produce milk for personal consumption. But the same at present is unplanned or disorganized activity. Surplus milk can be sold directly to neighbors or in the local market. The average dairy farm has 3.5 head of cattle, with very low average yields of 200-250 liters per 305-day lactation. Low herd yields generally reflect poor management practices and inadequate investment in genetics and veterinary services. In Bangladesh, dairy farming is generally considered to be a subsidiary profession, as male farmers are often more inclined toward field crop agriculture
In 1998, BRAC, the Bangladesh based development organization, launched BRAC Dairy to assist its village organizations in dairy production and market development. BRAC offers microfinance loans for livestock and provides a range of market services, including transportation, pasteurization, processing, branding and distribution. Independent dealers typically purchase milk directly from approximately 40,000 farmers and transport it to one of BRAC Dairy’s 100 chilling stations, which are mostly located in the western divisions Khulna, Dhaka, Rajshahi, and Rangpur. As BRAC generally offers competitively higher prices, farmers consistently receive a fair market price. BRAC processes milk at a central facility in Gazipur, which produces a range of products under the Aarong brand name. BRAC(Aarong) products include fresh and powdered milk, flavored milk, flavored yoghurt and sour curd. BRAC is the second largest dairy operation in Bangladesh, representing about 20 percent of the countries processed milk output.
In 2002, the Program for Rural Advancement Nationally (PRAN), one of the largest agro-processingfirms in Bangladesh, partnered with Land O Lakes, Tetra Pak, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA), to introduce ultra high temperature (UHT) treated milk into the Bangladesh School Nutrition Program. The technical expertise developed during this project was also shared with other companies to expand local commercial production of UHT milk. Today, PRAN is the third largest dairy operation in Bangladesh, representing about 10 percent of the market
But the potentials of the dairy market has been only partly exploited in Bangladesh thus far. Much greater endeavour is required by the private sector, fully assisted by the government, to achieve the full potentials of the dairy sector.