Volunteer Reddy Bommineni completed a Farmer-to-Farmer assignment in Bangladesh, providing in-service training to staff from the Central Disease Investigation Laboratory under the Department of Livestock Services. Reddy shares his thoughts from his assignment in the blog post below:
It was a tremendous opportunity to be immersed in the country of Bangladesh. As a poultry veterinarian and microbiologist, it was my priority to work with the poultry industry and federal lab in Dhaka. The main objective was to improve capacity building of the existing systems in place. I was able to help speak to the needs and interests of personnel, educating on diagnostic techniques in necropsy, histopathology, bacteriology, parasitology, as well as molecular diagnostics.
The highlight of my experience was the quick and rewarding response that occurred as facility problems were managed before our eyes! The new techniques were put into practice right away. This would enable better management and protection of poultry health. In the future, this will ultimately lead to good quality chicken protein at lower cost. My hope is that this would result in an increase of poultry consumption per capita and allow for economic gain throughout the region.
One standout piece of this assignment was the extremely genuine hospitality I was met with. I continuously encountered interested people who were willing and ready to learn about ways to promote the goals of my travel. I was hosted in both a guesthouse and hotel that exceeded my expectations of warm accommodations. There was a constant gesture of good food and helping hands throughout my time there. I am planning to visit again to conduct Histopathology training on poultry diseases.
Photos of Reddy in action are included below!
