It began four years ago with five Silkie hens bought on a whim from Narayanganj. That small hobby farm has today grown into a rich collection of 22 local and foreign improved breeds of poultry. Mobarak Hossain, a resident of Srirampur in Raipura municipal town in Narsingdi, has established himself as a successful entrepreneur alongside teaching at a private school. He is now a name for inspiration among the area’s educated unemployed youth. The entrepreneur Mobarak has built his unconventional farm, “Molla Agro Farm,” by setting up coops on abandoned low-lying land behind his home in Srirampur. The farm has the world’s largest and smallest breeds of poultry, Colombian Light Brahma and Malaysian Serama. It has roosters of 22 breeds, including White, Black Tail, Molted, Golden Sebright, Silver Sebright, Buff Sebright, Silkie, Serama, Australorp, Kadaknath, Brahma, Police Cap, White Frizzle and Hilly Lyzza, from Bangladesh, Australia, the United States, Poland, China, Malaysia, India and Japan. There are also special-breed quail weighing 500 grams. With a mix of various fancy and commercial breeds, the farm has already gained wide recognition in the area. Not only does he raise poultry, the entrepreneur Mobarak also produces chicks from eggs himself using an incubator. Selling the fancy poultry produced on the farm both online and offline, he earns Tk 40,000 to Tk 50,000 a month.
Mobarak said: “Four years ago today I saved up 100 to 200 taka at a time and started the farm with five Silkie hens for 2,500 taka. Now I have two farms. The two farms have roosters of various fancy types from 22 local and foreign breeds.”
He also said: “For unemployed youth, raising this kind of poultry can be a more profitable venture and a big source of employment. I welcome new entrepreneurs to my farm. Let them come, see, and if they like it I will give the advice needed for raising poultry.” Educated unemployed youths from various areas come every day to see Mobarak’s poultry farm. Many are learning modern techniques of poultry rearing and various aspects of farm management from him. They are also showing interest in the profession.
Dr. Mohammad Kamruzzaman, an official of the Raipura upazila Department of Livestock Services, said: “Mobarak Hossain, a resident of the municipal town, is raising 20 to 25 foreign breeds of poultry. He is profiting by selling those birds online and offline. Seeing his farm, many are showing interest in raising poultry. This will help them profit financially from poultry rearing as well as reduce unemployment. We give fancy-breed poultry farmers various advice. We also make farmers aware of applying deworming medicine and vaccines to prevent poultry diseases.”
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report