Our mission is to increase farmers’ wealth

Dr FH Ansarey is a renowned figure in agricultural development. He has been working tirelessly both at home and abroad in agricultural development, research, sales, marketing, and globalisation. He is also the director of the Agricultural Research Foundation and a syndicate member of Bangladesh Agricultural University. This leading personality in agribusiness has been associated with the profession for 36 years. He continues to make significant contributions to various sectors of agribusiness including seeds, fertilisers, crop care, farm mechanisation, animal health, and integrated poultry. For the past 23 years, Dr Ansarey has held top positions in ACI Group. Recently, he sat down with Views Bangladesh to discuss the state of agriculture and agricultural modernisation in Bangladesh. The last part of the three-part interview is published today.

The interview was conducted by economics writer M A Khaleque and Associate Editor of Views Bangladesh, Girish Goiric.

Views Bangladesh: Poultry farms now meet much of our meat demand. However, there are complaints that the feed quality in poultry farms is not up to the mark. What should we do to improve this?

FH Ansarey: We used to hear about contaminated feed in our country’s poultry farms about four or five years ago. One thing to keep in mind is that the meat we produce in poultry farms grows to about 1-1.5 kg in 35 days. Why does this growth occur? Because protein-rich feed is provided. The ingredients in this feed are not toxic. They contain good protein, which causes the rapid growth. To produce one kilogram of poultry meat, about 1.3-1.4 kg of protein feed is required. In many cases, it takes 2 kg of feed to produce 1 kg of poultry meat. There’s a big difference between one kilogram and 1.25 kg. How much contamination can someone even afford to add to the feed? They can't add much cheaply. So, the rumors we hear are not very valid. Because to get a 1 kg chicken, you must feed 1 kg of protein. Those who raise chickens don’t do it for their own consumption, but to sell in the market. Now, if they see that feeding 1-1.25 kg results in a 1 kg chicken in 35 days, but feeding 2 kg yields the same, then they will never buy the additional feed.

Initially, some might have tried, but seeing it yielded no good results, they stopped. I don’t think they are still thinking about it. Only five or six companies have a large share of the feed market. We alone sell about 460,000 to 470,000 tonnes of animal feed annually in Bangladesh. There are 7-8 other companies that produce and sell even more. How is this possible? Because the quality and benefits of the feed we’ve provided are understood by the farmers. They’re using it because it’s profitable. I can assure you that it is not possible to farm chickens using contaminated feed. That’s entirely baseless. It’s just a rumor.

Views Bangladesh: People in our country have a kind of fascination with beef, but the amount of cattle we produce is much less than the demand. As a result, we hear that farmers use various chemicals to fatten cattle. This causes the cattle to swell, and the meat increases; but it poses health risks. What should we do to prevent this risk?

FH Ansarey: It is absolutely wrong to use such products in any way. Most important is that when raising cattle, I must provide healthy food. Vaccines must be given if necessary. Hygienic maintenance must be ensured. This is important science. Our native cattle need to be fed 12 kg to produce 1 kg of meat. We have a good breed in our country, Brahma — feeding it 7 kg results in 1 kg of meat. The difference is just in the breed. If our government made a policy to support the rearing and production of such breeds, then farmers would stop raising the lower-yield native cattle. With a good breed, 1 kg of meat could be produced at a cost of Tk 450-500. Meat could be sold at a much cheaper price. This is a matter of government policy. I believe this policy should be supported. Beef is very popular in our country and has high demand. This would significantly meet the meat demand and also lower prices. Those thinking of using hormones or other treatments to boost meat production wouldn’t need to. I believe the government should adopt a policy to quickly popularise the Brahma breed.

Views Bangladesh: In Bangladesh, much of the farming is still done using traditional methods. Although modern methods are somewhat known, they are not widely adopted. Especially compared to developed countries, we are far behind in modern agriculture. What can private companies do in this regard?

FH Ansarey: The use of modern machines in rice production has begun to a good extent. From irrigation to harvesting and threshing, everything can now be done using modern machinery in our country. However, the use of modern equipment in other crops is still far behind. Modern equipment is used in poultry farms. The equipment used in our poultry farms is as modern as those in developed countries. ACI is the largest agricultural machinery supplier in Bangladesh. We have a 50 percent market share in tractors, 43 percent in combined harvesters, and 70 percent in rice transplanters. In milking, we are now providing very modern machines. That means, overall, we are not only supplying machinery, but also providing maintenance services to farmers. If any machine used by a farmer malfunctions for any reason, our staff go and fix it within six hours.

Views Bangladesh: You began your career in 1981 as a sales representative at a Swiss multinational company. Today, you are recognised as an icon in Bangladesh's agriculture sector. We’d like to know about this journey of yours.

FH Ansarey: When I started my career in 1981, I thought I had to go far. In aiming for that, I focused on agriculture. I could have joined as a university teacher. My results were very good; but I thought agriculture had much more to offer. I felt that with effort, I can achieve something in this field. That’s exactly what happened. Within three years, I reached a reasonably good position. Initially, I was in sales, later I moved to strategy. The advantage of moving to strategy was that I could provide overall direction to the company. I improved my communication ability. I could create communication tools. We could quickly implement our ideas. The company benefited. The business grew. I became more identifiable. They realised my leadership was working. At the same time, farmers in our country began to become much more profitable. In a very short time, I became the head of marketing for the company.

Later, I joined a local company, also in the agriculture division. I worked there for two years. It was a small business, and I helped it grow significantly. Then I saw that a local company, ACI, which had a British ICI background, was thinking of entering agriculture. I thought that to do better in agriculture, I need to join this organisation. ACI had enough resources. The ACI chairman had a big vision. He saw society as something to perfect. The mission was big. I thought, by joining here, I could rapidly expand penetration. Many more farmers would benefit. And I could rise even further.

Working like this for the past 30 years, ACI has become the number one company in agriculture in Bangladesh. Our mission is very powerful. Our mission is to increase farmers’ wealth. Since 40 percent of our people are farmers, and 70 percent of our population lives in villages, if we can improve rural lives through agriculture, what will happen? The overall economy of Bangladesh will improve. The country will benefit. Farmers will live well. Agriculture will advance. Media people have supported us significantly — that has helped us greatly.

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first part:Further development of agricultural system essential to increase production

second part:Hard to distinguish between river fish and farmed fish nowadays