Dutch Delegates Visit PoultyTechBangladesh’s Demonstration Poultry Farm

The Netherlands and Bangladesh work together to strengthen the Bangladeshi poultry sector. The public-private partnership PoultryTechBangladesh comprises leading complementary (non-competitive) parties from various steps in the poultry value chain, which enables it to provide Bangladeshi companies with integrated solutions.

The partnership aims to strengthen business relations between stakeholders in the Dutch and Bangladeshi poultry value chain, resulting in increased trade, investment, and cooperation, and to contribute to a more competitive and sustainable poultry sector in Bangladesh.

PoultryTechBangladesh has been developed and is coordinated by Larive International and LightCastle Partners and includes ten companies and knowledge institutes such as Aeres Training Centre International, Aftab Bahumukhi Farms, Hato, Hendrix Genetics, Kazi Farms, Marel Poultry, Mavitec, Nutreco, Royal Pas Reform, and Van Aarsen. The initiative is co-funded by the Government of the Netherlands.

As part of the Bangladesh initiative, an existing open broiler farmhouse of Aftab Bahumukhi Farms in Kishoreganj has been upgraded to a semi-closed farmhouse by implementing Dutch solutions, fitting to local conditions.

The demonstration poultry farm aims to showcase best practices in terms of broiler farming via implementing training programs for the Aftab staff and other broiler farmers from the region with respect to brooding, biosecurity, water quality, and farm management amongst others.

The approach of investments in farm equipment (heating, ventilation, closed drinking systems, and lighting) in combination with theoretical and practical training, enables Aftab to increase its technical performance substantially.

This upgrade aims to increase the levels of biosecurity and animal welfare, reduce farm operating risks, and improve animal and financial performance. The upgraded broiler house at the premises of Aftab functions as a demonstration location for broiler farmers from central Bangladesh.

The facility aims to showcase that investments in Dutch products and solutions are commercially attractive and applicable to Bangladeshi needs. 

On the 5th of February, the farm onboarded 6,700 Efficiency Plus DOC in the facility and concurrently placed 6,300 Efficiency Plus DOC in another conventional broiler farming shed in the vicinity for comparative study.

The facility was visited on Thursday 9 February 2023 by a delegation of the Netherlands Enterprise Agency led by Mr. André van Ommeren, the head of the International Development department of the International Programmes directorate within the Netherlands Enterprise Agency, along with Mr. Mike Sips, Programme Advisor Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship, Orange Corners Innovation Fund; Mr. Osman Haruni, Senior Policy Advisor, Food Security and Agriculture within Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh.

Mr. Zahedul Amin, Director, and Mr. Priyo Pranto, Business Analyst at LightCastle Partners accompanied the delegates. They were escorted by Mr. A.T.M. Habib Ullah, Executive Director (Operations), and Mr. Daude Helal Fahim, Assistant Manager (Operations) from Aftab Bahumukhi Farms.

In March 2023, a group of 20 Master Farmers nominated by the Bangladeshi consortium members and poultry sector leaders will be trained by Aeres Training Centre International at the demonstration poultry farm via a train-the-trainer approach, enabling them to share broiler farm management best practices within the Bangladesh poultry sector.