From two calves to 14 cows, housewife Shaheen Akhter has also built a mature house
Photo Collected
Shaheen Akhter, a housewife, started a farm with 2 calves with a loan of only 40 thousand rupees. Now he has 14 Shahiwal breed cows in his farm. Barga farmer husband has returned even after going abroad. He was burdened with debt. It was difficult to get two meals. But Shaheen paid off all the loans by farming. Made a mature house. He also gave education to four children. Now she is the inspiration of all women in the area. Seeing him, many women have come forward to raise cows.
Shaheen Akter (43) was married 25 years ago in a poor farming family. Husband was a barga farmer. In their hut there was scarcity. He did not have enough food for two meals. Three daughters were born one after the other. Shaheen’s anxiety then increased. Borrowed from neighbors and relatives and sent her husband Abu Sufyan to Saudi Arabia. It was not working properly. He was unemployed most of the time. After five years, Sufyan was forced to return home in 2009. On one side is the pressure of creditors, on the other side is the sustenance of the family. This woman was not getting any corners.
বিজ্ঞাপন
In 2010, Shaheen bought 2 calves with a loan of 40,000 taka from a commercial bank and started rearing them. Tila Tila built a medium-sized farm. Now he owns 14 cows. He works on the farm while taking care of the house. Every year, they buy new calves with the money from the sale of cows. Cultivated improved varieties of grass and fodder for cows. In addition to these, he educated three girls in higher education. Wealth has come to the family now. In 2019, he demolished his hut and built a one-story brick house.
Shaheen Akter’s house is in Akbarpara area of Adhunagar Union of Lohagara Upazila of Chittagong. If you go two kilometers west from Lohagara upazila Sadar through Lohagara road, Bailey bridge over Dolu river in Akbarpara area. After crossing the bridge, 150 meters south along the river bank is Shaheen Akter’s house.
বিজ্ঞাপন
Last Sunday, it can be seen on the ground that the farm is in the front of the house. 14 Shahiwal cows were eating grass there. Shaheen and her husband were busy taking care of the cows at the last moment to take them to the market for sacrifice. Apart from the cow farm, Shaheen keeps 30 pigeons, 25 native chickens, 20 ducks and 4 goats.
Prothom Aloke Shaheen Akhter said, ‘I used to keep poultry and goats before my husband was sent abroad. On that occasion, there was going to and from the upazila livestock office. When the luck did not return even after sending my husband abroad with a loan, I decided to raise cows on the advice of the upazila livestock officer. We build a farm in the courtyard of the house. Take a loan of 40,000 taka from Islami Bank and buy 2 calves first. After keeping them for a year, sell them and see the profit. Later the enthusiasm increased. After that, we increased the size of the farm little by little by taking small loans at low interest from Upazila Youth Development. We buy new calves and sell them. In this, the amount of profit also increased.
Shaheen said that currently the 14 cows of his farm are worth around 15 lakh taka. A few days ago, he sold two cows at the Qorbani market for two and a half lakh taka. He paid off all the debts with the profit of raising cows. Built a brick house. Educating children in higher education. Alif Tahasin, the only son of Shaheen Akhtar’s four children, is the youngest. He attends a local secondary school. Eldest daughter Reshma Akhter, who completed her post graduation, got married two years ago. Mezzo’s daughter Sumaiya Akhtar has completed her diploma and is currently working as a nurse in Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Younger daughter Zakia Soltana is studying at Chittagong Polytechnic Institute.
There are no workers in Shaheen Akter’s cow farm. He takes care of the cows himself. Her husband Abu Sufyan helped her. To provide fodder for the cows, Barga took two acres of land and cultivated maize and Napier grass there. He has been given a grass cutter and a corn thresher as incentives from the Upazila Livestock Office. In addition to corn and grass, cows are fed husks and hay. Shaheen and her husband work day and night. Bathing the cows, feeding them, cleaning the farm, they do all the work together. In addition, he had to take the responsibility of cooking.
When asked about his future plans, Shaheen Akter told Prothom Alo, “Once upon a time, no one raised cows in this area. Seeing my success, many women around are now rearing cows. It’s nice to see. In the future I will expand the scope of the farm and build a dairy cow farm. I will help new entrepreneurs by advising them.
Lohagara Upazila Livestock Officer Setu Bhushan Das told Prothom Alo, “Shaheen Akhtar is an indomitable woman. Others can be inspired by him. There is a huge demand for beef and milk in this region. We provide vaccines, medicines and regular training to young entrepreneurs. Anyone can become successful like Shaheen Akhter by rearing cows with our help.
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