Poultry sector sees support, not for small farmers

Marginal poultry farmers have expressed disappointment with the proposed FY27 national budget, arguing that it offers little direct support to a sector that plays a crucial role in ensuring protein supply, generating rural employment and boosting household incomes across the country.

Although the government has increased overall allocations for agriculture, food security, fisheries and livestock, no dedicated programme or targeted funding has been announced for small-scale poultry producers.

The proposed budget earmarks Tk43,335 crore for the agriculture, food, fisheries and livestock sectors. However, it does not include any specific support package, subsidy, concessional credit facility or risk protection fund for marginal poultry farmers.

“The tax and VAT exemptions offered in the budget on feed ingredients and machinery imports will largely benefit large corporate companies and commercial enterprises,” he told the Daily Sun.

“No specific incentives have been included for marginal poultry farmers. Such incentives should have been included, especially to support rural-level farmers. Poultry farming at the village level has already declined, and steps should be taken to revive and expand small-scale backyard poultry farming in rural areas,” he said. He stressed that marginal farmers require both policy support and financial incentives.

The budget does, however, include several indirect measures for the sector. To support the poultry, dairy and fish feed industries, three additional raw materials will be added to the zero-duty concession list.

The government has also proposed reducing import duties to zero on five key items used in poultry and dairy machinery manufacturing, including belt-type manure removal machines, hatcher machines, setter machines, humidity sensors and temperature sensors.

In addition, withholding tax on 60 essential commodities, including livestock, poultry, fish, rice, wheat, potatoes, edible oil and seeds, will be cut to 0.5% from existing rates of 1 to 5%.

To strengthen food and nutrition security and meet growing demand for safe animal protein, the government plans to expand livestock sector development initiatives. Field trials of Avian Influenza and Goat Pox vaccines developed by the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) have been completed and are expected to be rolled out soon.

The government also plans to ensure the availability of animal disease prevention medicines at the upazila level and strengthen the production and supply of safe, high-quality feed for poultry and fish farms.

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