“When the project goes to scale, 1200 women entrepreneurs will benefit from a reliable monthly wage, training and selling two cattle to Pabna Meat on a four month quarterly basis. ”

In this inclusive business venture, Pabna Meat aims to develop a sustainable inclusive supply chain to increase its output of high quality, organic meat.  While it has the capacity to process the meat from 25 cows each day, Pabna Meat currently sources cattle from the open livestock market, where supply and quality are unreliable and where prices are volatile. At the same time, the customers of Pabna Meat also have longer credit duration – so it is difficult for Pabna Meat to keep investing more capital into procurement. As a result they only process five cows per day.  Through a contract farming scheme engaging up to 1200 women to feed and fatten the cattle, Pabna Meat aims to establish a sustainable inclusive supply chain that will provide 25 quality cows per day at a fair price, both for the women and for the company.

The inclusive business is based on a contract farming scheme where Pabna Meat will initially engage 25 women for cow fattening over a period of six months on a pilot basis.  The pilot aims to refine and validate the business model, and secure a financing system for women to join the scheme.  At the same time, Pabna Meat will train the women on producing organic feed in their homestead and teach them proper methods of managing the cows. Pabna Meat will also ensure good breed of cows are selected for fattening and they are given preventive medication.

The number of women will be gradually increased, 50 at a time, to reach 1200, ideally within two years. Pabna Meat will support women with the help of BIF and other NGO’s like Practical Action in Bangladesh to monitor the women and provide them with advice on rearing their cows. At the end of each cycle, Pabna Meat will buy back the cows at a fair market price.

The commercial driver for this venture is to promote organic meat and meat products and become a first mover in this niche market. By establishing a sustainable supply chain that benefits the women engaged as contractual suppliers, Pabna Meat ensure a high quality and reliable supply of cattle that will meet its commercial needs.

When the project goes to scale, 1200 women entrepreneurs will benefit from a reliable monthly wage, training and selling two cattle to Pabna Meat on a four month quarterly basis. Pabna Meat also plans to link cattle fattening to a biogas project, which will help women produce their own power for cooking and lighting. The company estimates that one woman will earn BDT 8000 (BDT 80 = USD 1) from selling two fattened cattle in one quarter and BDT 2000 per month for her labour.

BIF support will go towards reviewing the business and operating plans, finding local partners to form farmer groups and finding investment for the project.

Pabna Meat will also work with Practical Action, an International Non-Governmental Organisation, utilising its experience in working with marginalised farmers in cattle rearing, fattening and dairy value chains in monitoring the social impact.

The current challenge for development of this business is the need for soft finance for each woman to get started, and the need to validate the business model. BIF support will go towards refinement of business and operational plans, setting up the initial pilot, and finding investment funds for the farmers.