An economic study on production and marketing of ducks in haor areas of Netrokona district

Livestock subsector of poultry in Bangladesh is playing important role to its economy in light of growing small business, sources of protein supply, and providing a livelihood for millions of people. The study was designed to investigate the profitability of duck producing farms and marketing system of duck enterprise in haor areas of Netrokona district. In total, 50 farmers were selected. Farmers were divided into three categories (small, medium, large). The study shows that the average gross return from duck amounted to Tk. 47023 for small farms, medium farms gross return was Tk. 57580.82 and for large farms it was Tk. 57013.83. All farms average gross return was Tk. 53872.55. Annual net return for small farms from duck amounted to Tk. 19603, for the medium farm it was Tk. 23275 and Tk. 24275.16 for the large farms. Undiscounted BCR for small, medium and large farmers were 1.71, 1.68 and 1.74 respectively. The study also shows that, the marketing costs of paikers, wholesalers and retailers were Tk. 1920, Tk. 3019.41 and Tk. 2859.4 respectively. The corresponding net marketing margins were estimated at Tk. 833.33, Tk. 1173.66 and Tk. 938.6 per 100 ducks. This study identified some of the problems and constraints associated with production and marketing of duck which were- scarcity of feed, higher price of feed, higher transportation cost, lack of capital, lower price of ducks. Based on findings, recommendations were made for the improvement of this prominent duck farming sector. Res. Agric., Livest. Fish.5(1): 65-74, April 2018