An investment in knowledge is never lost

Cheick Ahmed Ouattara

‘An investment in knowledge is never lost’, says Cheick Ahmed Ouattara. This twenty-six year old Burkinabé is the embodiment of ‘the student who becomes the master.’ He runs his own poultry farm in Burkina Faso and came to Barneveld in the Netherlands to learn about improving the health of his chickens.

Cheick Ahmed Ouattara has not only applied his newly gained knowledge at his own farm, but has also helped teach it to others. He teaches his students about a wide range of poultryrelated challenges, like preventing diseases, proper construction of poultry units and chick breeding. These trainings in Burkina Faso are just one example of the projects run by the Aeres Training Centre International. Based in the Netherlands, this centre helps people, governments and companies improve poultry farming practices all over the world. Students from developing countries travel to the Netherlands, or trainings and courses are given abroad, in countries in Asia and Africa, for example. Because there is an

emphasis on learning by doing and passing on knowledge as much as possible, the relatively small organisation and its partners can have a big impact. The school’s campus in Barneveld is fully equipped for this, with a poultry house, an operational poultry feed factory, a larvae-based feeding unit, and much more.

Tight networks

How come a relatively small country such as the Netherlands can provide such trainings? Teus Korevaar, account manager and trainer at Aeres TCI, explains: ‘The Netherlands is unique in the sense that governments, corporations and educational institutions work very closely together. As a result, we’re often leading when it comes to poultry innovation.’

Listening to chicks gives you information about their respiratory health.

There is enormous demand for poultry knowledge

International student during a training.

We’ll have a great impact, which will multiply in the coming decades

Collaborations such as within the Dutch Poultry Centre, with partners Poultry Expertise Centre and the Aeres University of Applied Sciences, also play a big part in that regard. ‘We have tightly knit networks, which really helps when it comes to raising our profile and positioning ourselves’, Korevaar says. ‘Both towards Dutch companies, but also internationally.’

Making a difference

The training centre has a history spanning almost six decades. According to Korevaar, exporting Dutch knowledge and helping poultry farmers all over the world improve their businesses, is now more relevant than ever. ‘We’re facing ever bigger challenges with food production. There is enormous demand for knowledge about poultry, sustainability, animal welfare, meat and egg production, and animal feed’, the trainer says. ‘We increasingly understand that sustainability and animal welfare contribute a lot to economic gains and healthy business operations. So I think we can really make a difference with our activities.’ On top of making this difference, it’s Aeres TCI’s core principle that teachings must be shared broadly. Korevaar: ‘Our trainings are often twofold in nature. We focus on information sharing, but also on didactics. We want participants to share their knowledge with others.’ It is exactly this approach to teaching that makes that an organisation from a country as small as the Netherlands can have a big international impact. Ouattara illustrates: ‘Every year, our local partner trains approximately 400 students. Just imagine those 400 people sharing the knowledge they acquired all over the country. We’ll have a great impact, which will multiply in the coming decades.’