ACI working to create wealth for farmers

ACI, one of the largest business and industrial conglomerates of Bangladesh, has been making huge contribution to the growth of agribusiness and thereby the agriculture sector of the country as a complete agriculture value chain.

Managing Director and CEO of ACI Agrolink Ltd and ACI Agribusinesses Dr F H Ansarey shed light on the contribution of the conglomerate to the agriculture sector in an exclusive interview with the daily sun recently.

Ansarey said ACI Agrolink has been working to create wealth for farmers of the country, and to achieve the mission the company is selling not only products but also solutions and technologies to farmers.

“We think ourselves successful whenever a farmer is benefitted by using our solution and technology,” he added.

The ACI Agrolink CEO said his company provides complete solutions to problems in agriculture and keeps communicating with farmers after providing technology to improve its practice.

“We do so by supplying inputs and imparting practical to training farmers which increases their productivity, he added.

The managing director said as a part of its comprehensive solution, ACI distributes herbicides, pesticides and insecticides for crop protections.

He suggests mechanical intervention by using machine in every phase of cultivation for increasing productivity as Bangladesh is a land-constraint country.

“Mechanical intervention can reduce production cost besides increasing yield,” he noted.

ACI Agrolink has six business components -- seeds, fertilisers, crop protection, animal health, and agriculture machineries.

In reply to a query, the managing director said his priorities are successful operation of buying and selling commodities, and gradual diversification of forward and backward linkages.

Re-launch of Anchor Milk

ACI Agrolink has recently re-launched Anchor Milk, a product from New Zealand, in Bangladesh with the view to creating and expanding the milk market of the country.

Explaining the reasons for ACI embarking on milk business, Ansarey said: “Milk is very essential for human health, but Bangladeshi people don’t like to drink packeted liquid and powdered milk for lack of confidence in its quality. That’s why ACI has joined hands with Fonterra, New Zealand, to distribute its milk in Bangladesh as Fonterra has international repute of ensuring quality.”

Taking about the quality of Anchor Milk, he said Fonterra ensures 100-percent quality of its products, which, unlike many other brands, come directly from farmers, not from any factory.

The managing director said his company is initially marking Anchor brand powdered milk and will eventually launch many other products such as liquid milk, yogurt, cheese and custard made of locally collected milk whenever people’s confidence in the brand will grow. See page Biz-2

“Not only ACI, but also farmers of the country will be benefited once a big milk market is created,” he maintained.

Ansarey said his company is working to distribute mixed semen for enhancing milk production across the country. “Our initiatives will increase overall productivity as a cow from mixed semen can give up to 50 litres of milk a day.”

In reply to a question, he said ACI Agrolink would like to be the number one milk company in the country. “For that, we are distributing semen and setting up bull stations from where we will create high quality semen.”

ACI Agrolink assures farmers that the semen it provides will survive, otherwise farmers will be compensated.

Agribusiness potential

Ansarey, a PhD in ecology who teaches at different universities, believes Bangladesh has huge prospect in expansion of agribusiness. He said the country can export rice, potato and greater quantity of shrimp by increasing production.

He said ACI has already paved the way for successful agribusiness in Bangladesh and urged others to invest more in the agribusiness as his company alone cannot develop the market to the optimum level.

Describing Bangladesh as a beautiful and fantastic country, he said Bangladesh has some vulnerability besides countless attractions.

“Whenever we brand our country to attract foreign investors, we should highlight both the vulnerabilities and attractions... In this case, the government can use the success stories of local corporate houses that have repute abroad,” he opined.

For the overall development of the country, Ansarey suggests developing every potential sector, ending the concentration of and dependence on a few.

Citing that 30 percent of the population of the country is youth, he said they need to be made entrepreneurs, through modest beginning, by providing training and other supports.

He suggested change in curriculum of school and college and syllabus at university level to turn youths entrepreneurs.

Apart from ACI Agrolink and ACI Agribusinesses, Ansarey leads Premiaflex Plastics Ltd and ACI Motors Ltd as the managing director and CEO.