As a result of house-to-house cattle and goat farming practices everywhere, the district has become home of surplus sacrificial animals counting to around 1.65 lakh in the district compared to its demand.
Local animal husbandry sector has marked a revolutionary boost in recent years following massive steps taken by the government and different development organisations.
Both rural and urban areas, the poor and marginalised people including women have achieved tremendous successes in the sector getting various assistance from the government and development partners.
Artificial insemination of cows is gaining popularity in the region following significant achievement in improving the breeding system.
Tareque Islam, 45, a farmer of Paba upazila, has been fattening eight buffaloes for around seven months aimed at selling those in the upcoming sacrificial animal markets.
Due to the cross breeding, the cows are giving milk 10 times more than the previous record, said Arafat Hossain, a successful dairy farmer in the city.
He said the producers have adopted new and improved practices and technologies in bull rearing and fattening contributing to enhanced production and productivity.
The size of the market has expanded due to the growing active role of large and small-scale private companies.
Line Agencies have become proactive towards supporting market actors especially Local Service Providers by dint of their complementary roles in extension services.
In practice, the LSPs provide training, advice and input to the producers and earn on an average Taka 4,500 per month. Routinely, they extend different modern technology to the producers through setting demonstration plots in the locality.
Besides, they organise community meetings with the help of private companies for building awareness about quality inputs.
Service contracts were established to provide regular necessary services and inputs to the farmers.
Dr Abdul Hai Sarkar, divisional director of Department of Livestock Services, told BSS that the region needs around two lakh animals to meet up the demand of sacrifice but it has around three and a half lakh animals eligible for the purpose.
Professor Jalal Uddin Sarder from the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in Rajshahi University said that the venture promotes various value- addition activities of bull fattening which reflected a sustainable economic change of the poorest people particularly women.
Many of the rural families have been rearing and fattening bulls commercially and earning huge profits every year. In the wake of expansion of modern technology, the animal husbandry sector is flourishing in the areas boosting the local economy that reduces import of sacrificial animals from India, he added.
Meanwhile, necessary preparations for selling and buying of sacrificial animals are being progressed in full-swing at present in the local cattle markets.
Importance has been given on selling and buying of animals through following social distancing and other safety guidelines on behalf of the local administration and the department of livestock.
This time, the government has a restriction on import of animals from the neighbouring country, Dr Jalal Sarder added.
On the other hand, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has intensified vigilance against cattle smuggling along the Rajshahi frontiers to avert any sort of intrusion of cattle heads from the neighbouring country.
The BGB has increased patrolling in the bordering area to prevent smuggling of cattle.
In the previous year, hundred percent domestic animals were sacrificed everywhere in the Rajshahi division. Around 22.14 lakh animals, most of those are goats, were sacrificed in all eight districts under the Rajshahi division.
The people sacrificed 7.11 lakh cattle heads, 9,469 buffaloes, 12.31 lakh goats and 1.81 lakh lambs.
