Rice Straw Losses and its Impact on Livestock Rearing in Bangladesh

Abstract

The existing practice of storing rice straw, routes of straw losses and problems related to livestock rearing in rural areas were studied in four selected villages of Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. The base line information on storage system of rice straw and livestock rearing problems were collected through PRA technique using a pre-designed questionnaire. From the survey it was identified that majority of the farmers stored rice straw traditionally making stack on the ground in unroofed condition and that caused considerable damage and losses of straw resulting shortage in the availability of rice straw for animals. Farmers reported that straw is lost in three stages - during harvesting, processing and storage condition. Harvesting loss was accounted for about 8 and 10% for Boro and T. aus straw, respectively. In wet season 25 and 23% of Boro and T. aus straw respectively, was lost during processing. About 18-20% of straw was lost during storage, which was mainly due to earthen evaporated gas, rat, termites, anjona (a reptile pest), poultry birds and excessive rainfall. In case of storage of rice straw the single most common solution for many problems as recommended by the farmers was to improve storage system. It may be concluded from the above results that traditional storage method leads to significant loss of rice straw resulting in feed shortage and impaired livestock productivity.