Career of livestock LSP Belal Hossain

LSP Belal vaccinating poultry on-farm

38 years old Local Service Provider (LSP) Belal Hossain is one of the most sought after men in the periphery of 25 villages in the Upazilas Jamalpur district for his knowledge and skills in livestock management. Especially his expertise in artificial insemination in cows and goats is well known. The journey of Belal’s career was not easy. After beginning his career as a small landholder and marginal farmer he had to face many ups and downs in his one and half decades of career journey to become a private service provider and employer of a small workforce.

His involvement in the cross-border project as livestock LSP has lifted him up the career ladder. In 2000 he joined a training course on livestock management which triggered his interest in livestock rearing. Almost 10 years later, he got another opportunity to enhance his knowledge on livestock by attending a five days long training under the Food Facility project* facilitated by specialists from the Department of Livestock of the Government of Bangladesh. He then gradually strengthened his coordination with the veterinary department and the local administration and received in 2011 a 3 months training on artificial insemination from the Livestock Institute in Dhaka.

Initially Belal used to take 5-10 Taka from farmers but nowadays people are happy to offer him up to 100 or 200 Taka per case depending on their resources. “I charge 5 taka for vaccination and 50 taka for treatment of minor ailments whereas the Govt. people charge 100-200 Taka. I charge less and attend to their calls instantly. People do not have to travel with their ailing cattle and I make follow up visits because of my interest to see the result; so I am the preferred service provider for the community”, says Belal Hossain.

On an average Belal provides 10-15 artificial inseminations daily. With the growing demand for his services, the Union Parisad Chairman provided him a room at the Union office premises on requests from the community. He employs two assistants, local youth. He is also linked to two Dairy Firms to provide artificial insemination services and receives monthly 1000 and 2500 Taka from the firms. Belal’s monthly income averages from 8,000 to 10,000 Taka.

LSP Belal providing artificial insemination

Belal has not stopped planning for the future. He already trained 1055 project beneficiaries as well as about 325 other community people in livestock rearing. He dreams about establishing a dairy business in the village to create employment for the village youth and provide veterinary care locally.

 

 

*EU funded Food Facility project, implemented by Concern Universal, Intercooperation and Dhaka Ahsania Mission, 2010-2011