Promoting Sustainable Aquaculture Development in Bangladesh: Larive-LightCastle Discusses Scope of Collaboration with the Officials of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock for FoodTechBangladesh

Larive-LightCastle team has discussed potential partnership opportunities with the Department of Fisheries (DoF) under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock (MoFL) to promote sustainable aquaculture development in a meeting held on February 8, 2023, at the Bangladesh Secretariat. 

Dr. Nahid Rashid, secretary of MoFL, and Mr. Kh Mahbubul Haque, director general of DoF, were present at the meeting. The potential collaboration will aim to support the dissemination of advanced aquaculture technologies and farming practices, the capacity development of shrimp and fish hatchery operators and farmers, and the transfer of knowledge and expertise for capacity strengthening of DoF officials through the implementation of the FoodTechBangladesh project.

The officials from MoFL and DoF expressed their views on leveraging collaborative efforts to improve the technical capacity of the farmers and strengthen the aquaculture value chain. 

Mr. Zahedul Amin, Director at LightCastle Partners, and Mr. Shubham Roy, Business Consultant at LightCastle Partners outlined the scope of collaboration with DoF and MoFL in line with the country’s strategic priority to scale up aquaculture production through farm mechanization and vertical expansion.

The proposed partnership would facilitate the integration of advanced Dutch aquaculture technologies and technical expertise to increase aquaculture production in Bangladesh, as well as contribute to improving the competitiveness and sustainability of the fisheries sub-sector through stimulating joint Dutch-Bangladesh private sector engagement.

About FoodTechBangladesh

FoodTechBangladesh, a four-year-long public-private partnership project coordinated by Larive International and LightCastle Partners, focuses on supporting the sustainable development of aquaculture in Bangladesh.

As a part of this project,  a consortium of Bangladesh and Dutch private sector partners, with support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh, will establish three Centers of Excellence (CoE) at Khulna, Sylhet, and Cox’s Bazar. These CoEs will act as demonstration farms to showcase different types of improved techniques for fish and shrimp seed production and cultivation, conduct research and trials, and host technical assistance programs for fish and shrimp hatchery owners and farmers.

In addition, this project will also focus on introducing tech-based solutions for aquaculture performance monitoring and creating market linkages for shrimp and fish hatchery owners and farmers to improve their profitability and sustenance.

The consortium for FoodTechBangladesh includes Dutch companies Nutreco and Viqon which have expertise in aquaculture along with leading Bangladeshi companies Aftab Bahumukhi Farms Ltd. and Gemini Sea Food Ltd.