Tk 4.3b down the drain as factory, lab left unused with no workers, scientists

A government owned factory for production of animal feed was inaugurated in Dhaka’s Savar on 19 January, 2023. While inaugurating the factory, the then livestock minister SM Rezaul Karim said Bangladesh would no longer need to import nutritious feed for cattle as the factory starts operation.

The former minister has now gone into hiding. The factory was operated only for a day, when the minister inaugurated it. When the factory will run again or whether it will be run ever is now uncertain but Tk 330 million has already been spent on the project.

Livestock department has constructed the factory under ‘Artificial Insemination Activities Extension and Embryo Transfer Technology Implementation Project’ (3rd phase). Although modern buildings were constructed and machinery of German technology were procured, no manpower was recruited in the factory. The project did not have any proposal of manpower recruitment. As a result, the factory constructed at huge expense is lying idle.

Not only the factory, the full and five mini laboratories have been constructed under the project. These also remain unused with manpower recruited.

Waste of public money does not just end here. In 21 years, projects were undertaken in three phases for embryo transfer of cattle. Despite construction of infrastructure and procurement of machinery, no embryo was transferred. Towards the last stage of the third phase, embryo transfer was removed from the project. The project was aimed at embryo transfer of high breed cattle to cows of domestic farms to increase the meat and milk production.

The project was undertaken at Tk 5.83 billion in three phases. Of the amount, a total of Tk 4.33 billion was spent in the third phase run between 2016 and June in 2024. The third phase of the project is yet to yield any benefit. The whole fund was covered by taxpayers’ money. However, instead of decreasing, the meat price has reached Tk 700-780 per kg and milk price crossed Tk 90 per litre.

This correspondent went to livestock department’s director general Mohammad Reyazul Haque on 17 December to know what the authorities are planning with the factory and the labs. He suggested talking with Jasim Uddin, the last director of the project.

Jasim Uddin told Prothom Alo that the whole project had been handed over to the livestock department last June. The officials concerned will now start operation of these facilities.

The project director has no duties after handing over the project, he added.

The factory that has been set up in Savar to produce nutritious feed for cattle is called the TMR (Total Mixed Ration) Demonstration Plant in the project. There are many cattle feed factories in the private sector in the country. Still, the factory was built by the government.

According to sources from the livestock department, the construction of the factory began in 2017. Manpower was brought in from outside for a day to inaugurate it on 19 January, 2023. When this correspondent visited the factory on 15 December, the main gate was found open. There was no security guard. The factory building was locked. Even after staying for an hour, no one was seen there.

Emdadul Haque Talukder, the then DG of the livestock department, presided over the inauguration ceremony of the factory in 2023. He is now retired. There was no response when contacted on his two mobile numbers.

Jasim Uddin, the AIET project’s last PD, told Prothom Alo that the infrastructural development works had been completed before he joined. He only handed over the buildings to the relevant authorities. The main reason behind the failure to start operation is lack of manpower.
Belal Hossain was the first director (2016 and 2017) of the AIET project. He went to retirement in 2019. He claimed the construction of infrastructure began when he was the director. Those who took the charge later did not implement the project properly.

He suspects there was misappropriation of funds of the project.

Belal Hossain claims that recruitments were supposed to be made at factories and labs from the revenue sector, but the project officials did not do that. As a result, the goal of the project was not fulfilled.

However, the last PD Jasim Uddin said there was no mention of recruitment of expert manpower when the project was taken up. As a result, operation of the factory could not begin even after construction. However, the factory was run by manpower brought through the contractor farm on the day of inauguration.

Asked why the factory was inaugurated if the operation would not start, Jasim Uddin said he had nothing to do in the end. The ministry and the department inaugurated the factory.

Nahid Rashid was the secretary of fisheries and livestock ministry at that time. He is now retired. His mobile phone was switched off. Meanwhile SM Rezaul Karim fled since the fall of Awami League government on 5 August.
The department officials claim that the factory has been handed over to central cattle breeding and dairy farms. Khorshed Alam, the deputy director of central cattle breeding and dairy farm, told Prothom Alo that he was asked to look after the factory as an additional charge but he has not received any instruction regarding the future of it.

The two full-fledged laboratories under the AIET Project were found in Chattogram and Faridpur. Mini labs were set up in Rangpur, Bagura, Sylhet, Khulna and Barishal. Seven labs were constructed at Tk 410 million, aimed at breeding high quality cattle and providing them to the grassroot farms.

It has been learnt from the districts concerned that no expert manpower was recruited in these labs. Some labs are yet to receive machineries. In the full-fledged lab in Chattogram, no technical experts were recruited and 18 types of machineries are yet to be set up. Only 9 bulls have been kept at the facility.

Nabil Farabi, acting deputy director of the lab, told Prothom Alo that 11 employees have been recruited through outsourcing. Recruitment in posts such as scientific officer, lab technician and veterinary surgeon are yet to be made.

The lab in Bagura was inaugurated 20 months ago. Nishat Jahan, Bagura district artificial Insemination Centre’s scientific officer and official in charge of the lab, told Prothom Alo that they are yet to receive equipment.

The first phase of the AIET project began in the 2002-03 fiscal year. The second phase started in 2009, and the third phase was launched in 2016. A total of Tk 58.3 billion has been spent across all three phases, entirely for expanding artificial insemination and establishing embryo transfer facilities.

In the second phase, an embryo transfer laboratory was set up in Savar, but it remains unused.

Project director Jasim Uddin in an interview with Prothom Alo claimed that the Department of Livestock Services lacks qualified scientists to implement embryo transfer technology. As a result, the embryo transfer aspect was completely removed from the project towards the end of the third phase.

He stated that once the necessary capabilities are developed, embryo transfer technology will be implemented, and a new project is currently in the planning stage.

Despite the expenditure of significant amount of money, the Department of Livestock Services failed to implement embryo transfer, the technology has been successfully implemented in the private sector.

Bangladesh Agricultural University professor Nasreen Sultana Juena told Prothom Alo that in 2018, a project costing Tk 450 million successfully transferred 17 embryos. Moreover, some of the offspring born from these embryos have already become mothers. This year, two private institutions have transferred 32 embryos and produced offspring.

Under the AIET project, 4,500 field-level workers have been trained to provide improved seed varieties to farmers. These workers receive a commission for their work. However, the core activities of artificial insemination take place in laboratories, and the project team showed little interest in starting operations in these labs. Their focus was primarily on infrastructure development and spending money on training.
'Everyone should be held accountable'
During the previous Awami League government, various government agencies constructed buildings and other infrastructures across the country. However, no efforts were made to ensure these structures were fully operational or that people benefited from them. Now, the focus is turning to the factories and laboratories of the Department of Livestock Services.
The White Paper Committee on Economic Issues stated in its final report that, during the Awami League government, widespread corruption, mismanagement of state resources, and the abuse of discretionary power led to the establishment of a "corrupt regime" over a period of one and a half decades, during which 234 billion dollars were siphoned off from the country.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman views such projects, taken without specific plans for public benefit, as 'white elephant' projects.
He told Prothom Alo that these projects have benefited certain individuals while wasting public money. He believes that all those involved in such processes should be held accountable. He further stated that experts should be consulted to determine the proper use of the infrastructure that has been developed.

The report was made with the assistance of information provided by the Chattogram office, staff correspondents from Faridpur, Khulna, Rangpur, Barishal, and Bogura, and Sylhet.