PoultryTech Bangladesh Hosts Feed Milling Workshop and Poultry Sector Stakeholder Dinner

The public-private partnership PoultryTechBangladesh comprises leading complementary (non-competing) parties from various steps in the poultry value chain, which enables Bangladeshi companies to provide 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.

On the 29th of November, 2023, PoultryTechBangladesh hosted a Feed-milling workshop and a networking stakeholder dinner. Van Aarsen, one of the consortium members of the PoultryTechBangladesh project and developer, manufacturer and supplier of state-of-the-art machines and complete feed mill and premix plant solutions, mainly conducted the session.

Mr. Roger Ubags, area sales manager for South East Asia, on behalf of Van Aarsen International B.V., presented a keynote paper titled ‘Energy Capacity at Feed Mill’ at the discussion. In the keynote, it was told that Van Aarsen has been working since 1949 to make a modern animal feed processing and manufacturing feed mill for providing quality and safe foods for poultry birds. There are 40 such feed mills in the world at the moment. Energy saving is being done in those mills by using modern scientific methods. It would be possible to ensure the supply of poultry feeds at less cost if such a method is used on a large scale in Bangladesh. 

Dr. Rashed Mahmud, Research Manager of One Health Poultry Hub-Bangladesh presented another paper citing a survey report on behalf of The One Health Poultry Hub, it was said that it would play a significant role in reducing diseases among people and animals if production and marketing is done in safe and more sustainable manners.   

The discussants mentioned several challenges in the poultry industry. These include,

• rise in the price of poultry feeds recently;
• instability in prices of chicken and eggs;
• trouble in getting bank loans for marginal farmers;
• absence of incentives during the crisis;
• imposing more customs duty on the import of raw materials.

Moreover, they mentioned the sector has provided employment facilities for a large number of people, including women, in Bangladesh’s rural areas. Hence, they called upon the government to take steps including giving special incentives for the sake of saving the sector.

Haruni Osman, Senior Policy Advisor, Food & Nutrition Security at the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangladesh, Sara van Hoeve, First Secretary at the Netherlands Embassy in Bangladesh, Matthias Brienen, Director of Larive International, Zahedul Amin, Director of LightCastle Partners, were present during the session. Furthermore, over 40 officials and representatives of different institutions such as Kazi Group, Meghna Group, Aftab Group, Paragon and Provita were among the participants.     

Amber van Spronsen, Emerging Market Advisor at Larive International and Dipa Sultana, Senior Business Consultant and Project Manager of LightCastle Partners, moderated the event.