2024 PoultryTechBangladesh Impact Tour Boosts Collaboration Between Dutch and Bangladeshi Poultry Sectors

PoultryTechBangladesh is a public-private partnership of leading Dutch and Bangladeshi companies active in various parts of the poultry value chain. 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 contributing to a more competitive and sustainable poultry sector in Bangladesh.

Coordinated by Larive International and LightCastle Partners, the five-year program includes esteemed entities such as Aeres Training Centre International, Aftab Bahumukhi Farms, Hato, Hendrix Genetics, Kazi Farms, Marel Poultry, Mavitec, Nutreco, Royal Pas Reform, and Van Aarsen, with co-funding from the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.

As an essential part of the PoultryTechBangladesh programme, to build on the business relationship and further cater towards the aid to trade initiative of the programme, a delegation of Dutch consortium partners visited Bangladesh from March 3–7, 2024. 

The impact tour featured various engaging events, including a networking dinner hosted by the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, facilitating engaging discussions among industry leaders.

Additionally, the delegation held detailed meetings with key decision-makers from prominent entities such as Quality Feed, Nourish Poultry, Provita Group, Astha Feed, Krishibid Group, Planet Agro, and Aman Feed, focusing on capacity building, technology transfer, and sustainable collaborative development within the industry.

The deliberations identified potential avenues for organizing capacity-building initiatives for smallholder poultry farmers.

This would involve training sessions conducted by Aeres International Training Center, utilizing a Train-the-Trainer (ToT) model. Through this approach, Master Farmers would engage in practical exercises, learning by doing. Following this, the knowledge would gradually be disseminated to grassroots actors through informal learning opportunities facilitated by the master farmers who have benefited from the program.

Additionally, the consortium explored the concept of establishing demonstration activities, such as slaughterhouses, which would be facilitated and co-funded by the program. Furthermore, discussions revolved around enhancing facilities with advanced contemporary technology, such as agricultural lighting by HATO. This mirrors the established demonstration farm partnership with Aftab.

The program seeks to create pertinent case studies through these demonstrations, aiming for sustainable and scalable outcomes that can be adopted by other stakeholders striving for increased production efficiency in poultry farming.

Highlighting the tour’s significance was the inauguration of a demonstration hatchery waste processing plant at Kazi Farms Group in Sirajganj, Bangladesh, led by a delegation from PoultryTechBangladesh, headed by Jasper Kort, Financial Advisor of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh. Equipped with rendering equipment provided by Mavitec B.V., one of the consortium partners, the plant underscores the commitment to technological advancement and sustainability within the poultry sector. 

Furthermore, participants had the opportunity to visit the Nourish-SASSO trial farm in Modhupur, Tangail, where a six-month trial of SASSO colored birds was conducted under the program’s facilitation, highlighting practical advancements and assessing the feasibility of new species.

The collaborative efforts of the 2024 PoultryTechBangladesh Impact Tour mark a milestone in strengthening ties between Dutch and Bangladeshi stakeholders, paving the way for enhanced efficiency, innovation, and growth in the poultry industry of Bangladesh.