Smart Bangladesh is an initiative led by the Government of Bangladesh aiming to transform Bangladesh into a technologically advanced and prosperous society. Bangladesh 2021-41 Perspective plan is to take the nation to the development path. In accordance with this plan and after successfully implementation of “Digital Bangladesh Vision 2021” to keep up the momentum, the country decided to start a voyage towards “Smart Bangladesh”. Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 12 December 2022 announced that her government will turn the country into ‘Smart Bangladesh’ by 2041. She said “Every citizen will be skilled in using technology, economic activities will run through using technology, government will be (technologically) smart … we have partially done that. And the whole society will be (technologically) smart”.
Most importantly, Smart Bangladesh is all about establishing an equitable nation—equal rights, equal opportunities, with no marginalized groups.
Four Pillars of Smart Bangladesh
This “Smart Bangladesh” heavily rely on four fundamental pillars that will be harnessed by the technology, who are the principal drivers of transformation. These four pillars are:
• Smart Citizen: 100% digital access, innovation, empathy and collaboration at core
• Smart Society: Fully inclusive society thriving in a sustainable environment
• Smart Economy: High easy of doing business, $50Bn ICT Industry & Circular economy
• Smart Government: Top 20 digitally innovating country & 100% paperless govt. with personalized services
“Smart” refers to the use of advanced technologies, such as the internet of things, artificial intelligence, blockchain, big data, robotics, drone technology, 3D printing and other cutting-edge technologies to improve various aspects of society.
Livestock sector can contribute mostly to develop smart citizen and smart economy. Smart livestock farming aims to achieve more productive, efficient, and sustainable farm operations based on the effective use of digital technologies.
Smart Livestock Production System
Livestock plays a catalyst role in balancing Bangladesh’s food security, nutrition, unemployment, earning foreign exchange, empowering women, etc. The livestock sector has significant contribution to balancing the country’s daily animal protein requirements. As per the Department of Livestock Service, the average growth trend of the sector was rated at 5.30 percent over the last five years. Currently, a person in Bangladesh consumes 120 grams of meat per day, which is supplied by the country’s livestock sector. Moreover, about 20 percent of the country’s population is directly, and 50 percent of the population is indirectly dependent on this sector. Perspective plan of Bangladesh has set out the demand of animal protein for 2041, which are as follows:
| Products | 2031 | 2041 |
| Meat | 150gm | 160gm |
| Egg | 165 Piece | 208 Piece |
| Milk | 270ml | 300ml |
The livestock’s contribution to food security and the integration of national economies is significant. The nutritional indicators of Bangladesh are changing positively over the years due to increase consumption of proteins. The government aims to promote the development of smart livestock farming in the country through the establishment of sustainable farms and the utilization of technology to enhance production while maintaining the quality. The development of smart livestock farming will require the implementation of various schemes throughout the country. These schemes include new methods for livestock and poultry farming. We should consider some indicators to achieve smart livestock system in Bangladesh. These include
- Adoption of Good Animal farming practices
- Strengthening Regulatory Enforcement
- Disease free animal farming
- Digitization in animal recording system
- Animal traceability
- Automaton in livestock production system
- Promoting livestock processing
- Climate smart livestock production system
- Smart livestock supply chain
- Supply of safe and quality animal protein
- Farm waste management
- Phasing out of wet market and live bird market
Contribution of Livestock in Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s livestock is divided into two main species: Ruminants and Poultry. Cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats are Ruminants, and ducks and chickens are under Poultry. In addition to domestic breeds of Red Chittagong, Goyal, and Pabna cattle in Bangladesh, foreign cattle of Haryana, Sindhi, Shahial, Jersey, and Holstein Friesian breeds are also available. Black Bengal, Jamuna Pari, and crossbreed goats, as well as domestic sheep are also available. Besides, there are 4 different categories of chicken available in Bangladesh: Broiler, Layer, Sonali, and Deshi. More than 58 (58.39) percent of chickens in Bangladesh are broiler breeds. Also in the case of ducks, other than domestic breeds such as Sylhet Matihans, Nageshwari, Muscovy, and Goose, there are foreign breeds such as Khaki Campbell, Indian Runner, Jinding, Cherry Valley, and Indigenous’Exotic crossbreeds. For FY 2021-22, Bangladesh had a livestock population of more than 43 crores, with 5 crores 67 lakhs of cattle, buffaloes, sheep, and goats, and 37 crores 56 lakhs of poultry.
According to the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Bangladesh is currently self-sufficient in livestock production. This means that the production of meat, milk, and eggs in the country has increased continuously every year during the past decade. In FY 2021-22, about 131 (130.74) lakh metric tons of milk, about 93 (92.65) lakh metric tons of meat, and more than 2335 million eggs were produced in Bangladesh. Besides, from FY 2017-18 to FY 2020-21, it was possible to meet the demand for sacrificial animals during Eid-ul-Azha only through domestically produced cattle. It is true that most large agro companies and small and medium-scale farms in Bangladesh maintain livestock such as cows, buffalos, goats, and sheep targeting Eid-ul-Azha only.
Table: Contribution of Livestock and Poultry in the National Economy of Bangladesh (2022-23)
| Sl. no. | Indicators | Contribution |
| 01 | Contribution of Livestock in GDP | 1.9% |
| 02 | GDP growth rate of Livestock | 3.1% |
| 03 | Share of Livestock in Agricultural GDP | 16.52% |
| 04 | GDP volume | 671.89 (billion taka) |
| 05 | Employment (Directly) | 20% |
| 06 | Employment (Partly) | 50% |
Reasons behind growth
- Increasing Protein Consumption
Bangladeshi consumers have become aware of protein-rich foods due to their increased affordability. In the past, people were unable to afford beef or goat meat due to high price. Thus, poultry meat was consumed largely than other protein owing to affordable prices. Currently, due to an increase in per capita income, purchasing power has been mounted. In addition, consumption and demand for meat like beef and mutton are increasing along with poultry. Meanwhile, according to the data of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (2020), the number of restaurants and food chains in Bangladesh increased by 59 percent in the last decade and reached four lakh thirty six thousand in FY 2019-20. These growing hotels and restaurants in Bangladesh require large quantities of chicken meat, beef, and mutton daily to meet the needs of customers. Thus, the constant growth of hotels and restaurants and their consumption of large quantities of poultry and meat have played a crucial role in the growth of the entire livestock industry.
- Government Initiatives/will
The government has taken a number of initiatives and campaigns to faster growth of the livestock sector. Through the ‘Amar Bari Amar Khamar’ scheme launched in 2009, more than 13 lakh households have set up family farms by 2019. Furthermore, various training programs on agriculture and livestock farming are organized by the government. The Department of Livestock Services has taken a comprehensive action plan to increase milk production. It will also help to improve cattle breeds, strengthen the market for milk and milk products, ensure quality control and increase the availability of milk products. To develop the dairy industry, the Department of Livestock Services is implementing several programs under the “Livestock and Dairy Production Development Project”, such as productivity enhancement, market linkage, value chain development, implementing animal insurance, and creating consumers for milk and dairy products.
Table: Bangladesh is self-sufficient in meat and egg production
| Name of the Products | Demand | Production | Availability | |
| Milk | 250 ml/day/head | 15.668 Millions MT/year | 13.074 Millions MT/Year | 208.61 (ml/day/head) |
| Meat | 120 g/day/head | 7.520 Millions MT/year | 9.265 Millions MT/Year | 147.84 (g/day/head) |
| Egg | 104 no/year/head) | 1785.68 Crore/Year | 2335.35 Crore/Year | no/year/head) |
- Increasing Investment
The livestock sector in Bangladesh receives increasing amounts of investment every year. According to a BPICC source, investment in poultry in the 80s was only BDT 1,500 crore, which has now reached BDT 35,000 crore. It is estimated that the amount of this investment will double in the next 10 years. Moreover, the entire livestock industry is looking toward rapid growth and business opportunity, and the biggest conglomerates in the country are also interested in investing in this sector. In 2018, the Bangladesh government signed a $500 million financing agreement with the World Bank. This agreement supports the development of the country’s livestock and dairy production, as well as better market access for 20 million livestock farmers and small and medium entrepreneurs.
- Use of Technology
The largest potential lies in individual animal monitoring and analysis, which is referred to as precision livestock farming (PLF). In PLF, tools and sensors are used to continuously and automatically monitor key performance indicators of livestock in the areas of animal health, productivity, and environmental load. It has been a common practice on the large poultry farms of the country to use machines such as hatching machines and chicken brooders since the beginning of the last decade. Today, these institutions are using advanced technology like Automated Cleaning Robots, Egg Collecting Robots, Temperature Control Systems, Water and Feed Control Machines, and Recycling Devices. Besides that, a number of large cattle and dairy farms, such as Nahar Agro and Eon Group, are currently using IoT-based, AI-integrated devices to monitor issues such as cow, buffalo, and other livestock body temperatures, automated feeding, and disease detection. As a result, aside from ensuring the health of the cattle, it is possible to significantly reduce maternal mortality as well as improve the health of the animals, which reduces production difficulties in farms.
Artificial insemination is currently being increasingly used throughout the country to improve domestic cattle breeds and boost production. For example, the artificial insemination of high-milk-yielding buffaloes through the buffalo development project is already underway across the country. For the development of the domestic cow breed, 16 lakh 44 thousand hybrid breed calves have been bred from artificially bred cows in FY 2020-21.
- Institutional network/ Extension network
A technology can go to the farmers through the institutional network. In Bangladesh, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, Department of Livestock services, Universities and private sector should have a good institutional network to dissemination the technologies at the field level. The Directorate of Livestock and private sector have set up more than 4464 specialized artificial insemination centers for animal breeding purposes across the country. In order to prevent disease in these animals, a strong medical system has been developed by the government. As a result, the country’s animal health protection and production have moved forwarded.
Figure 3: Use of IoT sensors for smart livestock management
- Skilled Manpower
At present, educated unemployed youth in Bangladesh are interested in raising poultry and cattle rather than looking for employment. There are about 5000 modern cattle farms in and around Dhaka run by young entrepreneurs. Now-a-days educated people are engaging in livestock sector. Educated farmers are able to use modern technology in their farms for managing farms properly, providing proper feed, and supplying necessary medicines. Thus, they also get benefit from self-employment, and the livestock sector is rapidly expanding.
Challenges
- Prone to Disease Outbreak
Bangladesh’s livestock sector has been affected by a variety of viruses and bacteria attack. In 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2017, Bangladesh’s poultry industry was attacked by Avian Influenza (Bird Flu). Thus, the poultry industry suffered a loss of BDT 5500 crore due to a decline in poultry consumption. There are several diseases that affect cattle throughout the year, such as scurvy, aquaphobia, PPR, blood dysentery, worms, etc. Besides, Bangladesh has only one testing lab to diagnose cattle diseases, making it challenging to serve such a large industry.
- Import Dependency
Raw materials for livestock feed, including wheat, soybeans, corn, palm oil, and rice bran, are seasonal crops in Bangladesh. So to meet the demand throughout the year, they need to be imported from India, China, Russia, and South America. Furthermore, cattle and poultry are prone to disease transmission, yet most of their vaccines must be imported. However, the Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (LRI), a research and development organization that seeks to solve livestock-related problems in Bangladesh, is still able to produce small quantities of vaccines at a local level. Because of this high dependence on imports, feed production and disease control are seriously hampered.
- Lack of Standardization
There is no standard certification or grading system for meat and meat products. The Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) is responsible for providing certification for food product standardization in Bangladesh. However, there is not yet a fully standardized quality control system for poultry or other meat products in the country. As a result, the country’s poultry sector is dominated by foreign companies. According to BPICC, 40 percent of poultry in Bangladesh is controlled by foreign companies, with a major portion under 7 foreign companies. These companies mainly determine the price of day-old chicks, the feed price, and even the retail price of chicken. As a result, small and medium-scale farmers are constantly suffering losses.
Future Opportunities
The global halal food industry is expected to grow at a rate of 10.83 percent from 2020 to 2027. While Saudi Arabia is the largest market for halal food, the list also includes many other countries in the Middle East and Africa, such as Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Egypt. The global halal food market has already reached $1.17 trillion. There are currently 100 companies in the country that produce as many as 700 different halal products. In FY 2020-21, Bangladesh exported a total of $1 billion worth of halal food and cosmetic products. Based on the information provided by the Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh has the opportunity to export halal food worth around $10 billion. In addition, the organic meat market in the world was $15.44 billion in 2021, which increased by 6.4 percent to reach 16.42 billion dollars in 2022. If BSTI sets international standards for halal and organic food in the country, international restaurant chains and five-star hotels in the country will be able to use raw materials locally without depending on imports. In addition, the adoption of international standards will increase the export volume of these meat products to the global market and increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
Way forward
To ensure an ever sustainable growth of the livestock sector, the sector needs to first overcome constraints like capital shortage, raw materials and institutional credit inadequacy. Also, it needs to add value to livestock product marketing, and disease control. Moreover, the government should formulate a plan to provide soft loans to farmers working in the sector through public and private banks, encouraging private investment, and ensuring the quality of day-old chicks, medicines, vaccines, feed, and breeding materials through legal and regulatory frameworks.
Although the country produces medicines and vaccines for various cattle and poultry diseases, most of the vaccines need to be imported. Improving vaccine manufacturing facilities in Bangladesh would help to reduce dependency on foreign imports. Since the raw material for livestock feed is dependent on imports and the price of animal feed fluctuates. If the production of corn and soybeans is increased, Bangladesh’s import dependence on feed raw materials can be decreased. By doing so, the price of animal feed will also be reduced.
Bangladesh has begun implementing modern farming systems, but the farms are quite inefficient because of the lack of proper automation. This increases the cost of breeding animals on farms. Several types of farm tasks such as farm environment monitoring and adjustment, cleaning, sanitization, feeding, and repetitive tasks such as egg and milk collection can be performed using advanced technology and robotics. If these technologies are made available to small and medium businesses in rural areas, Bangladeshi farms will be able to produce and operate more efficiently. In addition, farm management costs will be greatly reduced. In this way, Bangladesh’s livestock industry can focus on exporting processed meat as well as meeting the country’s needs, contribute to develop smart citizen and smart economy.
References:
- a2i.gov.bd
- bussinessinspection.com.bd
- bbs.gov.bd
- dls.portal.gov.bd
- portal.gov.bd
- thedailystar.net
- www2.deloitte.com
- www.efeedlink.com
Dr. Mohammad Rafiqul Islam, Chief Scientific Officer, Livestock Division, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council
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