I have come to the agro-industrial sector to help the poor farmers

Dated:

M. Anis Ud Dowla, Chairman of Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI), one of the leading industrialists of the country said, "I have come to the agro-industrial sector to help the poor farmers who have been living from hand to mouth over the years."

"The toiling masses of the country are short of technical knowhow for advancing the agricultural inputs of the country" he said with a hope to offer cooperation and required privileges in the respective fields by introducing latest technical innovations, seeds, modern agricultural tools and solar pumps for irrigation.

Anis Ud Dowla, owner of Advanced Chemical Industries and its sister concerns in an exclusive interview with The Asian Age said that there are wide potentialities in Bangladesh especially in the agricultural sector.

He said that the country will be able to produce food grain, special rice, vegetables and agricultural products within a short period of time. He also hoped that the country will be able to stand on its own feet in all spheres of agricultural production in near future.

The key-man behind the ACI Motors Limited, ACI Agrolink Limited, Premiaflex Plastics Limited and ACI Agrobussinesses, Anis Ud Dowla said that ACI has a turnover of more than taka six thousand crore per year and has invested Taka 50 crore for conducting research on social agriculture across the country.

At present it has properties and assets of 12,000 crore for developing the mission and vision of ACI exporting its products to 40 foreign countries of the world. ACI has been helping the poor farmers in growing agricultural products and also helps selling these products to people all over Bangladesh through 65 outlets of its sister concern "Shwapno".

"I want to change the quality of the lives of the masses by dint of their labor and develop their living standard." Anis UD Dowla further said, "I also want to create jobs for the unemployed people in the country that would give them the dignity to lead a standard life".

The productivity of the land in Bangladesh is very fertile, Anis UD Dowla said adding that the scientists and researchers of ACI have been engaged in producing varieties of food grains and vegetables across of the country and 600 representatives of ACI have been engaged in soil testing, soil preparation and trilling the land for growing more food grains and vegetables.

Only 60 per cent capacity of the land has been utilized over the country, Anis Ud Dowla remarked saying "We should try out best to use 100 per cent capacity of land for growing enough food for the nation." Anis Ud Dowla, a far-sighted industrialist, told the Asian Age that his colleagues in ACI have been addressing all sorts of agricultural problems with limited resources round the clock.

Stressing on the need for social agriculture, Anis Ud Dowla, who is now 81, said that the distribution system of agricultural products in our country is not based on equity causing loss to the farm owners over the years.

He, however, told The Asian Age that the government has not been patronizing the private sector for conducting research works on food grains and vegetables for unclear reasons. He called for state support for stronger ventures for generating new innovations in the agricultural sector.

Anis Ud Dowla, who was born in 1937 in a illustrious family in Faridpur district completed his Masters in Public Administration from Karachi University in 1959 and joined the then Pakistan Oxygen Limited in Executive Cadre and after the liberation war of Bangladesh he was made the Managing Director of Bangladesh Oxygen Limited. Later on he served as Deputy Managing Director of East African Oxygen in charge of Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.

The name of his father is late Khan Bahadur Mohammad Ismail, also a lawmaker during the then British rule in this subcontinent. His mother was late Kakabun Nessa Begum. Anis Ud Dowla became Managing Director of ICI Group in 1987 and later acquired the controlling interest of the companies and changed the name to Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI).

Anis Ud Dowla converted ACI into a Public Limited Company enlisted with Dhaka Stock Exchange in 1992.ACI is the first company in Bangladesh to have obtained accreditation of ISO 9001 Quality Management System in 1995, which is an international standard for measuring quality control.

Under the management of Mr Dowla, ACI has not only retained the quality image of a multinational organization but also shown rapid expansion. ACI Group is now a diversified conglomerate with two Public Listed Companies and 18 subsidiaries.

ACI Aerosol, Savlon, Mosquito Coils, Pure Salt are the market leaders in their respective categories. ACI Logistics has more than 65 retail chain stores in Dhaka, Chittagong and Sylhet and is the largest retailer in the country. ACI is also the largest integrated agro business entering into areas like fertilizers, seeds, pest control, animal medicines and feeds and sophisticated farming equipment. In healthcare, ACI plays a leading role among the pharmaceutical companies.

Anis Ud Dowla has been holding a leading height in the business community in various capacities since the inception of his business career. He led various business delegations on foreign trips and represented Bangladesh's business arena in various international conferences.

He attended the first World Food Conference in Geneva in 1976 under the auspices of the International Labour Organization (ILO). He was invited by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to represent Bangladesh's private sector in a conference on the role of private sector in food security held in Milan in 2009.

He was invited to Davos, Switzerland by the UN Global Compact Office to participate in the World Economic Forum Summit, also by Secretary - General of the UN to attend a UN Conference on Least Developed Countries (LDC) in 2011. Mr Dowla was elected president of Bangladesh Employers' Federation for four consecutive terms from 1975 to 1993.

He is also one of the sponsors of Mutual Trust Bank, Pioneer Insurance Company and Credit Rating Agency of Bangladesh Limited (CRAB). Mr Dowla is additionally a Trustee of Independent University of Bangladesh (IUB). He is currently the President of Bangladesh Seeds Association and founder chairman of ACI Foundation.

He was awarded for being the best entrepreneur of 2011 by DHL Express and The Daily Star and 'Most Respected Company Award - 2013' for outstanding performance in agro-based industry sector by Business Asia.

In Bangladesh, Dr Dowla is the longest serving professional business executive with broad experience in working with two world-renowned multinationals (BOC of the UK and ICI of the UK), experience in working as an expatriate and his leadership has made ACI an organization respected by the authorities, trusted by its consumers and admired by its employees.

ACI's mission is to improve the quality of life of the people of Bangladesh and the 16,000 employees of ACI are moving ahead with the goal of making Bangladesh a prosperous country.