Socio-economic profile of duck farmers and duck management practices in Rajshahi region

Abstract

Department of Agriculture Extension Education, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, BangladeshThe present study was conducted to determine the socio-economic profiles of the duck farmers and to investigate the management practices of duck farming and to identify the problems of duck farming in two upazilas of Rajshahi district namely: Bagmara and Tanore during the period from April to May 2012 by using a pre-tested questionnaire. Socio-economic profile of the duck farmers like age, education, family size, occupation, marital status, farm size, training received, annual income and management practices particularly housing, feeding, breeding, cleaning, disposal of diseased/dead birds, vaccination program, veterinary services followed by the farmers were investigated during the research. A total of 100 duck (50 from each upazila) were selected randomly for this study. The results reveal that most of the respondent farmers were young (60%) having secondary level of education (69%). Family size of the most of the farmers (57%) were small (size 4.53 persons) and majority of the farmers (75%) were marginal (0.021-020 hectare). Most of the farmers were medium income group (57%) with mean annual income of Tk. 200500. About 42% farmers had training on farming of different duration (7 to 30 d). Highest proportion of the duck houses were made of tin-shed (74%) having necessary floor space for ducks. The data obtained illustrated that majority of the farmers (74%) used sufficient supplementary feed to their ducks. About 65% of the farmers reared Deshi ducks in their farms. Most of the farmers (70%) cleaned their farm houses regularly. About 73% farmers separated their diseased duck from healthy ones. It was also found that most of the farmers (89%) buried their dead ducks under soil. Data indicated that majority of the farmers (67%) had partial idea about duck diseases. The highest proportion of the farmers (72%) followed vaccination program strictly. About 71% farmers consulted with village doctor. Nearly 51% farmers had low level of knowledge about duck farming. In the present study 10 problems were identified out of which low price of duck meat and egg made ranked as most serious problems. If the problems are addressed properly, the duck raising could be more profitable business in Bangladesh.

Knowledge and Awareness on the Risks of Pesticide Use Among Farmers at Pulau Pinang, Malaysia

“…A study by Salvatore et al (2008) stated that there was a significant decrease in pesticide exposure indicated by organophosphorus levels in urine for individuals who were using PPE compared to those who were not. Alam et al (2012) stated that the use of PPE is the major factor in reducing the exposure to harmful pesticides. However, only the farmer’s knowledge of the pesticide effects that can be avoided using PPE was studied, not the extent of their willingness to use PPE.…”

“…Most previous studies have focused on the distribution of weeds on paddies in the Muda areas (Begum et al, 2005). There was also a study conducted by Alam et al (2012) on attitudes and perceptions among paddy farmers in the Muda irrigation area that focused on weed infestation associated with herbicidal use. In addition, there was a study conducted by a group of students from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (1998) on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of pesticide use and the influencing factors among the farmers of Tanjung Karang Selangor.…”

Status of Price Variations of Fish, Livestock and Poultry Products: A Case Study in Gazipur District of Bangladesh

“…In recent times, the rumor against the false egg and nutritional disparity between white and brown egg in the market may have caused many poultry farmers incurring a loss while it has increased the demand for duck egg. But, duck farming is not being reared on a large scale in Bangladesh (Alam et al, 2012b). Therefore, the supply of duck egg is limited in respect of demand which caused the price to rise.…”

A Descriptive Study of the Characteristics and Systems of Geese Production in Sohag Governorate

“…The respondents, were asked to evaluate the different problems facing geese raising and production based on its severity in the following three categories 1 (the least important) 2 (medium important) and 3 (the most important).The final rank order of the problems was done based on the total weighed score of each problem. The total score was calculated by the formula, followed by Mozumdar et al, (2009) and Alam et al, (2012).Bivariate analysis was used to detect relationships between independent and dependent variables. This comparison test is more appropriate for categorical data (Cohen et al 2007).…”