Social Enterprises: Livestock and Fisheries

Dairy

BRAC Dairy was established in 1998 to provide fair milk prices to members of BRAC’s Village Organisations, who invested micro loans for purchasing cows.

We collect milk from 92 collection and chilling stations in 25 districts, including 10 located in ultra-poor areas, producing 314.73 million litres of milk in 2008.

We have designed a particular model for livestock development for the rural poor that includes:

• technical training
• vaccinations
• fodder cultivation
• credit facilities

As a result of these activities, milk production increased substantially in the BRAC operational areas. BRAC Dairy was set up to create a linkage to the market, and protect farmers from price volatility resulting from over-supply.

Artificial Insemination of Livestock

The livestock Artificial Insemination Programme was set up to create synergies with the BRAC Dairy enterprise as livestock is considered an important asset in poverty alleviation.

The BRAC Bull and Buck Station production centre in Mymensingh started producing frozen semen in 2000. It provides training and work to 1,500 artificial livestock inseminators who are working under the supervision of BRAC veterinary experts and providing door to door service for livestock breeders.

The programme aims to improve the breed of livestock for increased milk production and also to increase the cattle population in Bangladesh.

Poultry

BRAC Poultry is a pioneering in the field. It has contributed to the overall growth of the poultry industry in Bangladesh, and has created income-generating activities for millions of rural poor, distributing 9.3 million day old chicks in 2008.

Major activities include-

• Production of day-old chicks
• BRAC owned and operated poultry diagnostic lab
• Training Poultry rearing farmers

BRAC Broiler Processing is the largest and sole automated plant in Bangladesh. It was set up to meet the growing demand for dressed chicken in large metropolitan areas. The plant purchases chickens from our poultry rearing farms and some contract farms, producing 1,400 metric tonnes of dressed chicken in 2008.

BRAC Feed Mills were established in 1999 with the objective to produce quality feed for poultry. Recently, we have diversified our products to include cattle and fish feed, producing 31,448 metric tonnes of feed in 2008.

Fisheries

BRAC Fisheries, initiated in 1998, supplies fish spawn, prawn larvae, fish fry and fingerlings (juvenile fish) in response to the demand from commercial fishermen as wild stocks continue to decline.

It operates eight prawn hatcheries, four carp hatcheries, one talapia hatchery, producing 18 million larvae for freshwater prawn, 6,125 million carp spawn, and 6 million talapia fry respectively, in 2008. BRAC Fisheries also operates a marine fish breeding centre and an aquaculture unit.

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