Market Development in the Vegetables Sector
Client : Swisscontact-Katalyst
Location : Greater Rangpur (Northern Five Districts of Bangladesh)
Duration : 24 Months (July 2008-July 2010)
Short Description of the Assignment
The basic staples that feed the world wheat, rice and corn continue their inexorable rise in cost and scarcity. Farmers largely depend on their land for food security of him and his/her family. Cropping Pattern plays a substantial role in farmers’ cultivation. Greater Rangpur is a ground where cropping pattern appears in varieties. Usually farmers cultivate different types of crops including cereal crops, vegetables and spices in their land round the year.
To Design and implement market development interventions to promote a suitable cropping pattern for the farmers in Greater Rangpur so that the impacts can benefit the last mile and also to ensure that impacts are distributed across the value chain thus leading to equitable development and improved livelihood for the poor living below poverty line.
The interventions are:
- Promoting profitable cropping pattern in different topography
- Promoting early, late and summer variety of vegetable (summer cauliflower, cabbage, vegetable chili and tomato)
- Improving the knowledge of farmers on crop rotation
- Increasing knowledge of farmers on increasing cropping intensity by intercropping, relay cropping and 4/5 crops/ vegetable based pattern
- Increasing cropping intensity by utilizing lease land
As the project follows Market Development Approach which emphasizes the systematic change and more effective service market that works for the poor, GMark partnered with several private sector service market actors by realizing them the importance of providing information to the farmers that eventually increases their market share. The incentives there were to capture the untapped market by taking some research and extension work related to capacity building of farmers in improved production technology. The project also have received some input from the public sector actor like Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) under ministry of agriculture, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Soil Research Development Institute (SRDI) and one of the key local NGO having more than 1 million of target beneficiaries.
The exit strategy was quite simple, while GMark showed the private sector the way to capture the market by doing research and designing right product and taking right distribution channel in reaching the farmers as well by providing them information through their retailer and distribution network, private sector saw their market and they will provide information at their own will. Farmers will be knowledgeable on cultivation technology and about the market. They will ask for more service both from public and private sector which will eventually create a systemic change in the market. The crowding in is expected to happen due to increase competition among the private sector to take additional market share by selling input like seed, fertilizer and pesticides.
Market Development in the Potato Sector
Client : Swisscontact-Katalyst
Location : Bangladesh as a whole national market
Duration : 28 months (March 2010-June 2012)
Short Description of the Assignment
Potato now a day considered as being the most important crop of farmers only second to Rice. However, this sub-sector is not paying regular dividend as faces several constraints out of them diseases and post harvest loss are considerably important. Potato are grown mostly everywhere in Bangladesh with special concentration in Northern part of Bangladesh and central part also. In several occasion potato became the most disappointing crop for the farmers as it did not cover the cost of production. Government of Bangladesh has also given priority in Potato Production. But only government initiatives and interventions are not sufficient enough, if there is not any systemic change in the market that brings more private sector actors together in creating efficient value chain.
GMark facilitated different Potato seed companies in providing training for disease management that will eventually reduce the cost of production. Again GMark partnered with Cold Storage Association of Bangladesh to improve the infrastructures of cold storage and also management of potato during storage time which will reduce the post harvest loss and ultimately benefit the farmers and traders.
But total storage capacity provided by the cold storages can hardly meet one third demand of national production. That is why alternative use of potato and export (which is a new potential) are very much important to have an overall impact on the sector.
GMark is now working with the processor and agro-exporting companies to have a boost in the export and alternative usage of potato.
Developing service market for packaging of agro-products
Client : Swisscontact-Katalyst
Duration : 15 months (February 2010-May 2011)
Location : Bangladesh as a whole national market
Short Description of the Assignment:
One of the major constraints in the agricultural market in Bangladesh and the problem retains where absence of packaging service providers are one of the main problems. GMark is working for developing the packaging service market for selected agri-sectors fish, vegetables, and fruits. Packaging as said have several benefits across different sub-sector, hence treated as having cross sectoral impact over other sub-sectors like Fruits, Grains, Flowers, Vegetables, Fisheries and also in livestock in different forms. But the packaging service market is barely operating for the packaging solutions of agro products except some in retail level. Post harvest losses in agro produced are huge in Bangladesh as said upto 40% of products get damaged or get their quality reduced due to absence of proper packaging. GMark has conducted two separate studies for identifying the underlying causes behind the market inefficiencies and to find out the better market driven solutions. After the assessment, GMark has now intervening in two separate areas. One of that is increasing the capacity of existing packaging service provider who are mainly producing bamboo made packaging for fish, vegetables and flowers. Secondly, GMark is working with Plastic Manufacturer companies and association in providing right package for specific products that will have impact over farmers produced and increase their profitability from their production. GMark assisted private sector partner in conducting research for identification of right packaging solutions and demonstrating the benefits of package usage and providing training to the farmers. The packages those are now being promoted have promise of recycling from the private sector. GMark also assisted the plastic manufacturer association in arranging different agro-packaging fair. |
