A young entrepreneur in Bangladesh shares his passion for farming

[Shaha Noor]

A young entrepreneur in Bangladesh shares his passion for farming

Farzeen Ferdous Alam did not take any job or settle abroad after completing his studies in economics from Dhaka University. He opted to be a farmer.
"I love this. I am proud of this identity," he said as he inspired youths at the Social Business Youth Summit 2017 on Monday at a Dhaka hotel, amid applause.

He completed his education in 2014. Now, his Ferdous Biotech (Pvt) Ltd and Oggro Dairy combine have a market value of Tk 350 million.

He brings innovative solutions to the farming sector and uses tissue culture to produce various agricultural products for local and foreign markets.
"The main message set by this summit is to let youths have a chance to see how social business can impact normal lives among us".
Alam said he had been inspired by his mother Ferdousi Begum, who is a biotechnologist.

"I did not know whether I would succeed or not. I just started," he said about the beginning of his work.

But his passion for social work was visible when he was a school student. He motivated his friends when he was a ninth grader into clearing a public place at Dhanmondi.

"I am an economist by academic background, but my identity now is I am a farmer. I am very proud of this identity," he told the youths.

"I don't see it as a liability. I see it as a joy. This is a 24-hour work, no off day. That's the dedication you need," he stated.

Later, talking to bdnews24.com, he said when people talk about Bangladesh, they always talk about garments. We are a garments obsessed country. But agriculture still contributes 16 percent of GDP and 47 percent of the total workforce.

"We need agriculture. We need to feed our people. Bangladesh's economy really depends on agriculture."

About his work, he said innovation was the key.

"I even get a message at night, telling me that a cow has fallen sick. It's a cow monitor app which is widely used in the UK. We are piloting here to use this locally in Bangladesh".

He produces seeds that he gives to farmers and then buys potatoes from them. He exports potatoes to Brunei, Nepal, Singapore and Malaysia.

"We have to ensure quality in exports. Once Bangladesh used to export potatoes to Russia, but we lost that market after some businessmen exported bacteria infected potatoes."

With support from the Netherlands government, his dairy farm in Savar is now focused on increasing production of milk from cows.

"The target is to increase the production to 10,000 litres from a cow a year from the current average of around 6, 000 litres".

Alam has set up a farmers' academy where he teaches what he has learnt about rearing cows.

"The new project is maize production," he said, suggesting that youths focus on what they do 'today'.

Source: BDnews24