Meeting of Feed Dealers, Live Birds Market Actors and Middlemen
BeezBistar Foundation (BBF) organized a meeting with input dealers (Feed seller, DOC (Day OLd Chick) seller, dresser +processor of Live Bird Market (LBM and Middlemen of poultry value chain) on August 27, 2018 in BBF office meeting room at Tangail sadar. There were 19 participants present in the meeting for the purpose of stakeholder engagement of poultry value chainactors and better enforcement of laws, policies for regulation in the poultry feed sector.
The main objectives of the meeting was to create awareness among the stakeholders including feed dealers, live bird sellers and middlemen for implementation of poultry feed laws and policies to ensure food safety governance in poultry sectors. Feed dealers mentioned in meeting that presently they run their business with trade license from pourosova/union parishad but they did not take any license from Department of Livestock Services (DLS) that should have been taken regarding the feed act and rules. Upazila Consumers Committee (UCC) was working hard for feed dealers to get license from DLS in line with feed act and laws.
All members in the meeting decided steps needed for good governance like: Organize regular training and discussion meeting with poultry farmers and sellers, ensure safe feed supply to dealer as well as farmers, and assure the registration of all poultry farmers, aware farmers and dealers to keep their daily record system and avail feed testing facility in the district level. As BBF conducted such type of meeting from 2017 with all poultry value chain actors that keep positive attitude like actors are now more aware regarding the feed selection in condition with band and expiry date and actors have strengthen their link with local DLS officials also. Participants requested organizer to provide the list of registered feed mills and important points to get the registration/licenses from DLS on category -3 as per feed act and rules. BBF informed all participants that within very short time a standard checklist to keep their regular record as well as a brief guideline on registration process will be distribute soon.
A renowned feed dealer Mr. Nazrul Islam, Char Pakulla, Tangail Sadar mentioned that due to BBF initiatives dealers are now more aware regarding the selection and storage of feed, DOC and relation with local DLS has increased. He also mentioned that farmers and dealers of Tangail Sadar are follow the veterinary supervision for medicinal prescription of drugs as some of them get trained from different project on food safety issues. All participants were agreed that price fixation for feed, DOC and live poultry should declare soon for the sake of small scale entrepreneur. Participants also mentioned that they don’t have any option to select the best feed and DOC as major cost involved with these two input that should avail them and participants urges BBF to seat with local DLS officials as well as central DLS to find out the way to resolve the food safety challenges in good governance system in poultry feed as the conclude remarks.