Asalaam O' Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahee Wa Barakatahu Mr. Nauman,
My name is Shahzad S Iqbal and we are connected through Linkedin.
I am Chief Executive Officer of Jassar Farms (Private) Limited in Pakistan. Jassar Farms is dairy and breed improvement social impact project and it aims to positively impact the lives of very poor Muslim dairy farmers by increasing the milk production of their low yielding dairy animals.
Below is a project overview about Jassar Farms and I would like to request you to go through it before deciding if you wish to support our effort and project on a philanthropic basis. Please also see our corporate website and go through links to the the articles written about us in leading newspapers and news agencies such as "Khaleej Times" of UAE, "Arab News" of Saudi Arabia and "Reuters" news agency.
You will be pleased to know that Jassar Farms in 2013 was one of the 3 shortlisted projects from around the world in “Halal Food” category to receive an international award from HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. “Saffron Road” (USA), “Al-Baik” (Saudi Arabia) and Jassar Farms (Pakistan) were shortlisted and “Saffron Road” got the award.
The Islamic Economy Award was managed under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and directed by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council. These flagship awards for the “Global Islamic Economy Summit 2013” celebrated established and emerging companies that have demonstrated significant business and social impact using the Islamic economic ethos, and have inspired a new generation of leaders.
The links for this are:
http://www.awqafsa.org.za/islamic-economy-awards-2013/
We operate in one of the most difficult situations / terrains of the world where the law and order and security situation is so bad that vast majority of the countries have travel advisories imposed on us, we are seen as one of the most trouble ridden countries of the world etc, yet we at Jassar Farms have been able to prove with Allah Almighty's Grace that when a team embarks on a mission with passion and clear intent, it can deliver. We have only Allah Almighty to thank for these results.
We are continuing with our mission and our expanding the operations of our "Project Tamkeen" initiative and are aiming to include even greater number of poor Muslim people who today live without things that we all take for granted.
We hope that you not only support us after going through this information but will also share about us with your relatives, friends, social circles & professional circles as well. You see, its the intentions that count and not the amount of money that someone or some organization can give because that depends upon his or her income, personal needs and prior commitments. We have Alhamdolillah received support for our initiative "Project Tamkeen" from around the world and the level of support has been from US$ 500 to US$ 100,000 from different individuals. As far as we are concerned, every drop counts.
What our supporter needs to know is that for every US$ 1 of support that is extended to us, the poor Muslim dairy farmers will end up getting US$ 82 into their pockets through enhanced milk yields of their dairy animals over 7 year productive life of their animal, Insha Allah. Below is an overview of the scale of the support that we seek in total and it's societal impact:
| Total Societal Gain / Advantage For End Beneficiaries of "Project Tamkeen" of Jassar Farms | |
|
| 12 Month Cycle |
| Project Tamkeen Yearly Inseminations (maximum under current production capacity) | 360,000 |
| Rate per dose in US$ (inclusive of production, storage, delivery, monitoring and audit) | 15 |
| Yearly Support Needed (in US$) | 5,400,000 |
|
| Total Benefit / Gain Over 7 Years |
| Project Tamkeen - Yearly Inseminations | 360,000 |
| Average Pregnancy Rate | 50% |
| Total Expected Pregnancies | 180,000 |
| Total Expected Female Calves (Average 50%) | 90,000 |
| Total Yearly Milk Gain Per Cow Over The Local Mothers (in liters) | 2,000 |
| Total Per Cow Average Life Time Increase in Milk (Average 7 years productive life X 2,000 liters per year gain per year) | 14,000 |
| Average Milk Selling Rate Per Liter (US$) | 0.35 |
| Total 7 Years Value / Gain for Owner of Each Project Tamkeen Cow Owned by the Poor Farmers (In US$) | 4,900 |
| Total Life time Value / Gain Generated For Poor Farmers By Project Tamkeen Cows - US$ 4,900 gain per cow X 90,000 cows produced under Project Tamkeen (In US$) | 441,000,000 |
| Return To Society For Every US$ One (i.e. US$ 1): | 82 |
| Number of Higher Production Cows Produced | 90,000 |
| Average Number of Cows Per Family | 2 |
| Number of Families Impacted Positively Per Year | 45,000 |
| Average Number of Dependents Per Family | 6.5 |
| Total Number of People Positively Impacted Per Year Under Project Tamkeen | 292,500 |
Lastly, you will also be pleased know that our operations are audited by global repute auditing company "Ernst & Young" and we will Insha Allah share the audit report with you for your comfort and satisfaction. We have already had our operations audited up-till 31st December, 2013 and will Insha Allah share the report with you when you contact us after going through this information.
We sign off with humility and in anticipation of your support and patronage and look forward to hearing from you Insha Allah.
Best wishes for you and your family,
Shahzad S. Iqbal
Chief Executive Officer
Jassar Farms (Private) Limited
Mobile: +92 344 8484842
Website: www.jassarfarms.com
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Jassar Farms (Private) Limited, Pakistan - Project Brief and Overview
Innovation
Jassar Farms is a social impact dairy & breed improvement project which was established in early 2007 in Jassar Village, Narowal district of Pakistan.
The company has partnered with a non-profit venture fund, called Acumen Fund, to set up a unique livestock semen production facility in Pakistan. This facility is one of a kind in the Muslim World because it has Masha Allah the very best of dairy genetics and exclusively caters to the needs of the very poor and small dairy farmers.
Our vision is to enable and empower the rural poor, on an economically sustainable basis, through utilization of cutting edge technologies to create more socially equitable societies. Our mission is to acquire and develop cost effective dairy genetics to positively impact the lives of tens of millions of less privileged dairy farmers of the Muslim World. We help small farmers improve the productivity and milk yields of their animals with superior genetics and management practices.
The team is made up of internationally successful professionals, young, qualified and extremely committed individuals who are collectively following global best practices in management, governance and auditing.
Additionally, in pursuit of the vision and mission of Jassar Farms, the project team is also undertaking ‘Project Tamkeen’ to support very poor dairy farmers on a cost free basis. The coverage area for this initiative includes areas that get battered by floods repeatedly in Pakistan. This initiative will offer hope of a better future to them and will Insha Allah support the effort of stopping people from taking on terrorism and extremism.
Jassar Farms has three complementary divisions, namely, the Dairy Division, Semen Division and Social Development Division.
Dairy Division:
Due to high investment level in setting up a dairy farm based upon high milk yielding imported animals, Jassar Farms initiated a breed improvement program to produce its own crop of high-yielding animals by crossbreeding low yielding local animals with US Jersey and Holstein breeds using Artificial Insemination technology.
This innovative approach has allowed Jassar Farms to grow at an accelerated pace and form a more sustainable business model as its crossbred animals have lower cost and greater adaptability in the local environment than the imported animals. This farm acts as a model for others to replicate and learn from. 5,000 dairy farmers and students from veterinary universities have visited this farm since early 2007.
The genetically improved animals called Forward 1 or F1 are a product of a cross between low milk yielding local breeds and US Jersey / Holstein breeds. The F1s are superior to their local mothers on three key economic parameters. Firstly, F1s average age at first calving is around 26 months and this is 10 months less than the local mothers. Secondly, F1s are yielding 2 to 3 times more milk than their local mothers on per day basis. Thirdly, unlike their local mothers, F1s are able to sustain their milk production at a higher level of production, which results in 2,000 to 3,000 liters of incremental milk per lactation. The financial gain per F1 cow is around US$ 700 per year for a period of 6 to 8 years (productive life of the animal).
Semen Division:
Superior animal genetics is the corner stone of a sustainable dairy operation. Given the dismal yields of local breeds and limited breeding solutions available to small farmers at the grass-root level, Jassar Farms has establish a livestock semen production facility that has the very best of dairy genetics Alhamdolillah. Our objective is to improve productivity of small farmers by ensuring their access to world class dairy genetics at prices that they can afford tp pay. Our locally produced livestock semen dose from our elite embryo transfer bulls is sold for 1/5th the price of an imported comparable dose.
We pride ourselves for utilizing cutting edge technology of embryo transfer (for the first time in the private sector of Pakistan) for betterment of small farmers in Pakistan. This technology has enabled us to produce 100% purebred Holstein and Jersey bulls, whose fathers are from amongst world’s top 100 bulls and mothers have production record of 16,000 to 22,000 liters of milk per year / lactation. These bulls today produce top quality semen doses locally.
To get our high quality frozen livestock semen doses across to the 35 million poor dairy farmers of Pakistan, we have developed Pakistan's largest livestock semen distribution network and we cover nearly 5,000 Artificial Insemination Technicians (AITs) who are based deep in rural Pakistan.
Social Development Division:
Livestock, especially dairy animals, can play a pivotal role in alleviating poverty, especially in the rural areas. According to nearly every estimate and report 30 - 40% of the annual income of the rural based farmers comes from livestock related products. These smallholders produce about 80 - 90% of local milk marketed informally and formally in Asia and Africa.
Despite the significant contribution towards ensuring global food security, dairy sector remains an ignored and often-mismanaged sector of the economy in the developing countries especially the Muslim World. Over the decades while the developed countries improved productivity of their dairy animals with scientific progress, the productivity of their counterparts in the developing countries (especially the Muslim World) was more or less stagnant. Please see our website for details and graphical representation etc.
Even a cursory evaluation and study will reveal that while tens of millions of poor Muslim dairy farmers from Morocco to Indonesia are stuck with sub-prime animals that yield 1,000 to 3,000 liters of milk every time they calve, their counterpart animals in Israel and the developed world get 8,000 to 12,500 liters of milk during the same period.
Jassar Farms is advocating the case for small Muslim dairy farmers and it is mobilizing resources internationally for creating Genetics Center of Excellence for the small farmers of the Muslim Ummah Insha Allah. This center will relentlessly seek to create sustainable breeding solutions by optimizing use of breeds such as Holstein and Jersey and developing local breeds as well.
Project Tamkeen is an initiative of Jassar Farms’ Social Development Division and it aims to build sustainable income capacity of the very poor dairy farmers by augmenting the milk yields of their dairy animals using artificial insemination technology. Tamkeen means “empowerment” in Arabic and this conveys Jassar Farms’ conviction in self sufficiency of small farmers across the developing Muslim countries. The project aims to provide a transparent mechanism to corporate and private philanthropists seeking to improve lives of rural poor on an economically sustainable basis.
Under this project, Jassar Farms is:
- Engaging private and corporate philanthropists for gathering their support for the small farmers
- Providing artificial insemination (AI) service using top quality livestock semen from Jassar Farms’ elite embryo transfer bulls on a cost free basis for the very poor dairy farmers.
Project Concept:
Given the huge productivity gap of local and specialized dairy breeds such as US Holstein, artificial insemination with high quality semen provides an excellent method to improve income of small subsistence farmers through breed improvement. Crossbreeding a local cow that produces 1,500 liter of milk per year with a high merit bull (whose mother has produced 18,000 liters per year), will result in a calf that produces 3,500 - 6,000 liters of milk per year due to hybrid vigor and superior dairy characteristics of the bull. In other words, breed improvement enables the poor farmer to get about 2,000 liters more milk per cow each year, over the productive life of the animal.
The surplus milk thus produced is sold by the poor farmer and this leads to an incremental income of US$ 700 per year for the 6 to 8 year productive life of the animal. This money can be used for provision of education, health and social services to the family of the poor farmer. This money will also Insha Allah mitigate the tendency of militancy and revolutionary tendencies that impact the Muslim Ummah today.
Social Impact
Jassar Farms Alhamdolillah today has the following achievements and aims:
(a) The company has 100+ rural Pakistan based employees
(b) The company has a livestock semen distribution network of nearly 5,000 Artificial Insemination Technicians (AITs) that is geared to meeting the breeding needs of the largest dairy herd and dairy workforce of the Muslim World (Pakistan has 60+ million dairy animals and 35 million dairy farmers).
(c) The company offers its top quality locally produced livestock semen doses to poor Muslim dairy farmers at 1/5th the price of an imported comparable dose. Through this step Jassar Farms aims to promote and build artificial insemination of dairy animals and hence move towards genetic up-gradation.
Currently under 10% of animals are bred using artificial insemination in Pakistan and most other developing Muslim countries. As compared to this, 90+% of dairy animals in the developed world are bred using artificial insemination whereas 90+% of animals in majority of Muslim countries are bred using natural mating by the locally available poor genetic merit bull.
How can we ever expect the yields of our animals to improve if we continue our current archaic approach? How can we ensure dairy food security for our people if we don't change our approach? It is little wonder that most Muslim countries from Morocco to Indonesia today are importers of milk and milk based dairy products.
Jassar Farms is the manifestation and name of the dream to ensure dairy food security for the Muslim Ummah Insha Allah.
(d) The company has developed a unique rural countryside based distribution network through company operated distribution vehicles that travel approximately 2,500 kilometers daily
(e) In a country that is disturbed by terrorism, slow economic growth, corruption, social issues etc, Jassar Farms has been able to create a passionate team of young educated and committed people who are willing to go against the norm and work for a social impact organization that strives to create hope and better future for the rural poor Insha Allah.
(f) The company has developed linkages with academia to promote research and development of knowledge for others. The company has signed technical Memorandum of Understanding with 2 top agricultural and veterinary universities of Pakistan (please see website for greater details)
(g) The company has gained local and international recognition for its initiatives and hence projected a positive image for a Muslim country that is struggling with so many issues today. Below please find the media links:
Arab News (Saudi Arabia):
http://www.arabnews.com/life-style/pakistan%E2%80%99s-dairy-pioneers-struggle-milk-market
Herald Tribune (Pakistan):
Reuters News Agency (USA):
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/26/us-pakistan-milk-idUSBRE87P0D220120826
Khaleej Times (UAE):
(h) The company has already successfully raised financial support from philanthropic Muslims in Oman, Dubai, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia and has already Alhamdolillah launched Project Tamkeen initiative. Under this initiative animals of very poor Muslim dairy farmers are being impregnated on a cost free basis with top quality livestock semen. Funds to positively impact 1,875 families have already been raised and secured. To increase the scale of this initiative further, the company is reaching out to more philanthropists. For every US$ 1 that is used to support Project Tamkeen, the return to society will Insha Allah be around US$ 82 over the 7 years productive life of the dairy animals of the poor Muslim dairy farmers. Please see website for further details and a documentary on Project Tamkeen.
(i) The company aims to expand the scale and scope of Project Tamkeen into other Muslim countries Insha Allah. Poor Muslim dairy farmers of Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Sudan, Somalia, Egypt and Palestine can Insha Allah surely benefit from Project Tamkeen implementation.
(j) The company aims to export its top quality affordable livestock semen to other Muslim countries Insha Allah
(k) The company aims to directly address poverty related rural Muslim world issues through augmentation of incomes of poor Muslim dairy farmers Insha Allah.
The Struggle
Jassar Farms is not only a name of a project but it is rather a name of a dream and a way of thinking.
Every member of the team has sacrificed and faced challenges for their collective desire to do good for the less privileged Muslim brethren in Pakistan and in the Muslim World Alhamdolillah. The sacrifices rendered and challenges faced so far to setup this project of no parallel in the Muslim World today, are huge. Some of them are stated below:
(a) A senior member of the project team was divorced by his wife of 14 years because she did not wish for her husband to be associated with this project any further. Her patience and her spirit to sacrifice ran out and she left him.
(b) The Chief Executive had to give up a top paying international corporate career with Fortune 500 companies to set this project up (please see profile of "Board Members" from website).
(c) The project was unable to pay its employees for 11 successive months during 2011 / 2012 yet no employee left the company
(d) Despite belonging to humble backgrounds themselves, the employees of the company have shown commitment to the project and its mission that is far beyond the call of duty. They have even operated in areas that are prone to terrorist attacks and at times have have discharged company liabilities using their personal savings and funds.
(e) Using cutting edge embryo transfer technology for the first time in Pakistan was a huge risk. The company could never bring in elite global dairy genetics into the country if this risk was not undertaken.
(f) Setting up a livestock semen production facility in a country that has one of the world's largest animal herds yet has been relying on natural mating of animals for breeding since times immemorial was a huge risk because it is so very difficult to change historical practices of rural populace.
(g) Convincing philanthropists to support a project in Pakistan is a very uphill task because the country currently carries negative perception yet despite these issues noble Muslim people have come forward and have supported Alhamdolillah.
(h) Convincing Acumen Fund USA to invest US$ 1.9 million into an untried technology driven social impact project was a difficult challenge especially in the background of it being based in Pakistan.
(i) Hiring and retaining a team of committed staff members who are diligent, competent, educated, smart, hardworking, passionate and dead honest was a challenge in an environment where the company could not even pay them regularly.
The Geographic Reach
The project's livestock semen distribution network within 18 months of inception services / covers 60% of Pakistan's 35 million dairy farmers because practically the whole of Punjab province of Pakistan is covered by it.
The company is planning to not only expand its operations in Pakistan further but also aims to export it's locally produced top quality livestock semen to other developing Muslim countries to increase milk yields of their dairy animals as well Insha Allah.
Under Project Tamkeen initiative, 15,000 dairy animals of very poor families are being inseminated on a cost free basis. This project is being implemented in District Muzzafargarh of Punjab province of Pakistan. (Please website for further details & documentary)
Project Tamkeen's scale and scope will Insha Allah be further expanded to include more abject poor areas of Pakistan and other Muslim countries Insha Allah.
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