Md. Nazmul Hasan
Agriculture is the main occupation of the large rural population of the country. At present, 80 percent of the people of the country are directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture. According to the data of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the main achievement of the economic wheel of the country during the crisis of Corona epidemic is the agricultural industry. During this crisis, the growth of other sectors fell and the growth of the agricultural sector increased a lot. In the financial year 2019-2020, the GDP growth in agriculture has been 4.6 percent. The contribution of agriculture to GDP was 13.35 percent in this financial year. During the transition from an agrarian to an industrial economy, the annual growth of some sub-sectors of the agricultural sector increased manifold, which strengthened the position of the agricultural industry in the total GDP. Poultry industry developed as one of the sub-sectors of agriculture in our country in the early eighties. Currently the second largest industry in Bangladesh is the poultry industry. The development of the commercial poultry industry has on the one hand moved the economic wheels of the country by eliminating unemployment, on the other hand it has filled the shortage of animal meat. There is no denying the contribution of the poultry industry to poverty alleviation, employment generation and rural economy.
The role of newspapers in the development of poultry industry in Bangladesh is highly commendable. Poultry industry news has gained more prominence in mainstream journalism. There was a time when newspapers meant politics, murders, celebrities and sports. Agriculture and farmer news were not given much importance there. The role of newspapers in the revolutionary development of the country’s agriculture is immense. From that realization, mainstream journalism is now promoting agriculture and farmers’ minds. The language associated with this industry, which is dying in the hearts of this industry and all concerned, is constantly being revealed by the prestigious newspapers of the country. Which is a milestone for this industry.
Only mainstream agricultural journalism can pave the way for the desired success by promoting the plight and backwardness of the industry. Good agriculture reporting can solve all the problems and bring its news to the doorstep of the people.
It is this newspaper that brings to the public the pictorial news of the poultry industry during storms, rains, floods and various epidemics. During the Corona epidemic, when the poor condition of the poultry industry appeared, the newspapers published the news drawing the attention of the Directorate of Livestock for its remedy. This increases the activity of livestock officials at the local level. Livestock officials take various measures to prevent disease outbreaks to benefit farmers at the field level. When the plight of the poultry industry appeared during the Corona epidemic, the country’s first-class newspapers drew the attention of the government and the Ministry of Livestock and published news and printed editorials and paraphrases.
During the crisis period of Corona epidemic, when there was panic in the public mind that Corona is spread from poultry and cattle, the newspapers drew the attention of the Health Department and published positive news. The news published in the newspaper plays an important role in overcoming this fear in the minds of the people.
Due to floods, dengue, corona and political unrest, all those involved in the country’s poultry industry did not get fair price. They suffer losses due to price fluctuations. In this regard, the first class newspapers of the country drew the attention of the government and were able to inform the concerned department about the reluctance of all of them. Moreover, the demands of all organizations and farmers related to the poultry industry are presented to the government through newspapers. So that the government plays a constructive role in increasing the allocation and subsidy in this sector.
Poultry industry development using modern scientific thinking and new technology how to continue the development of this industry is presented to the farmers through newspapers. Newspapers have been playing an important role in motivating farmers by publishing news about new breeds and information developed in various universities and research institutes in simple language. Moreover, if someone succeeds as a new entrepreneur anywhere in the country, the newspapers have been publishing his success story. Moreover, the role of newspapers in receiving the Bangabandhu National Agriculture Award is immense. Moreover, newspapers act as a catalyst to eliminate unemployment and create new entrepreneurs. According to Nobel laureate AmartyaSen, there will never be famine in a country where the press is free. In other words, the importance of independent news reporting and creative newspapers is immense in improving the fortunes of agriculture and farmers.
Some fake online news portals appear from time to time to question the contribution of the poultry industry. Their fabricated news on the poultry industry creates panic in the public mind which is extremely dangerous for this sector. Therefore, in view of the current situation, as a former student of Bangladesh Agricultural University, I think that the first-class newspapers of the country will go against all these fake news and serve correct creative news as a protest. I think only the dailies of the country can highlight the poverty and backwardness of this industry nationally and pave the way for the desired success by giving priority to agricultural news in their economic pages. As a result, the traditional crisis of this industry will go ahead and the brave path of daily life of farmers will be accelerated.
The writer is a Agriculturist Manager, Dhaka Breeders & Hatchery Limited and former Student, Faculty of Animal Husbandry, Bangladesh Agricultural University
