Guests pose at the launching event of Dairy Value Chain Forum at a city hotel. The first annual Dairy Value Chain Forum was officially launched at a city hotel on Wednesday, marking a significant milestone in Bangladesh's journey toward driving green transformation of the dairy industry.
The forum is a flagship initiative under the Green Dairy Partnership in Bangladesh, a five-year project funded by the Danida Green Business Partnership (DGBP) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark to increase the resiliency of the dairy farming households, and to develop sustainable and viable private sector led green dairy value chain, says a press statement.
The event was attended by Dr. Md. Abu Sufiun, Director General, Department of Livestock Services, as the chief guest, Anders B. Karlsen, Deputy Head of Mission, Embassy of Denmark in Bangladesh, and Dr. Shakila Faruque, Director General, Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, as special guests.
The Green Dairy Partnership aims to create a green, inclusive, and commercially viable dairy value chain in Southwest Bangladesh. With a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent and increase income for 10,000 farmer households -- 80 per cent of whom are women -- the project is designed to scale up to 50,000 households. It brings together a consortium of partners including Solidaridad Network Asia, Arla Foods, PRAN Dairy, SEGES Innovation, IDRN-Bangladesh Agricultural University, and the Danish Agriculture & Food Council.
The Dairy Value Chain Forum serves as a collaborative platform. It will initiate multi-stakeholders' collaboration for responsible business conduct and the adoption of climate smart technologies to make dairy business commercially viable and environmentally sustainable.
It will address systemic challenges to increase productivity and investment to realize the sector potential for profitable dairy business at scale that shall meet national nutrition demand and contribute to sustainable development goals.
The inaugural event featured presentations on project progress, baseline findings on emissions and farming practices, and the introduction of the "Arla Big Five" sustainability model -- focusing on feed efficiency, feed balance, animal robustness, manure handling, and efficient land use.
Looking ahead, the forum will operate through a structured governance model with a steering committee, and will convene community, district, national, and international forums on a regular basis. Key activities will include capacity building, knowledge exchange, and the development of a white paper to inform policy and investment decisions.
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