Many people push an insect away in irritation at the sight of it. Yet insects are now at the centre of the story of how Shimul Hossain of Pabna got back on his feet. He gave up his job and set up a duck farm, dreaming of standing on his own. But the ducks died of disease one after another and he lost several lakh taka. Under the burden of debt, his progress came to a halt.
It was then that a video on YouTube changed his thinking. He came to know of farming the black soldier fly. He began on a small scale, then experimented, gained experience and slowly raised production. He now has five insect farms and earns about Tk 2 lakh a month. Besides his own livelihood, his venture has created work for several local people.
Shimul Hossain is the son of Mozahar Ali Pramanik of Parsidhai village in Atgharia upazila, Pabna. He holds a diploma from Pabna Textile Engineering College. He started the farm six years ago; before that he worked for a private company in Dhaka. Seventeen people now work on his farms.
The story of his recovery began with a major failure. He had set up the duck farm out of a wish to leave his job and do something of his own. At the start his dream was to enlarge the farm, raise his income and change his family’s circumstances. But disease suddenly spread through the farm and the ducks began dying one after another. The money he had invested was gone before his eyes. Shaken by the loss and lacking the courage to start anything new, he began watching videos online about farming. There he first learned of the black soldier fly. His interest grew when he learned that its larvae can be used as a source of protein in animal feed. The larvae also grow on food scraps and other organic waste. Protein for animal feed on one side and a use for organic waste on the other made him keener still.
He did not think about it much longer. He took the risk and started farming the insects, at first on a very small scale. He tested the production method on his own land. There were many problems at the beginning; he had to learn how to control the environment and how to collect the larvae.
He now produces black soldier fly larvae in a controlled environment on five farms. The larvae are collected, dried and supplied to various businesses. Because of the demand, they are sold as soon as they are produced, he said.
“When the duck farm made a loss, I was largely broken. Later I learned about insect farming from YouTube. I started on a small scale. Then I understood there was demand for it. Now I have gradually enlarged the farm,” Shimul Hossain said.
By his account, the black soldier fly can be farmed in comparatively little space and at low cost, but proper care and control of the environment are essential.
“At first people used to laugh. My family did not like it either. At one stage they turned me out of the house. But I carried on with the work. Now there are five farms, and the income is about Tk 2 lakh a month. What I like best is that several people have work because of me,” he said.
Several local people said a venture of this kind had hardly been seen in the area before. At first it seemed rather strange to them; now they quite like it. With work created on Shimul’s farms, some of the area’s unemployed young men have found a way to earn. In their view, ventures like this could spread further with training and government support.
Shimul’s father, Mozahar Ali Pramanik, said: “When he first started farming insects, we were annoyed and turned him out of the house. We thought, what sort of work is this! At one time we used to belittle it. Now it has become a huge farm. Many workers work day and night. Many people now work under my son. We are pleased to see it.”
Dr Md Zahurul Islam, Pabna district livestock officer, said black soldier fly larvae are a promising source of protein in animal feed. If they are farmed by technically correct methods, entrepreneurs can be created and jobs generated. The livestock department has an initiative to give promising entrepreneurs the support and advice they need.
Aminul Islam, deputy commissioner of Pabna, said entrepreneurs of this kind are much needed to create work for unemployed young people. Through work like this, he said, a promising source of protein for the country’s animal feed will be created.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report