Sowing the Seeds for Safe & Plentiful Food

The impacts of escalating conflict, climate threats, economic uncertainty, and poverty have left nearly 800 million people worldwide facing chronic hunger, with more than 333 million people’s lives in danger from acute food insecurity.

Despite being one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, 40 million people in Bangladesh are still food insecure and 11 million continue to endure acute hunger. While Green Revolution technologies have been central to improving food security in Bangladesh, that progress is limited by the over-application of pesticides and the lack of a certifying authority for safe food that consumers trust. Creating the conditions for businesses and farmers to profit from providing safe and plentiful food starts with a systemic change to food market systems.

Strengthening Agribusiness & Promoting Safe Bananas

Bananas represent 20 percent of all fruits produced in Bangladesh and are consumed by over 95 percent of the population.

The leading challenge in expanding banana production and consumption is adoption of agricultural practices that deliver predictably high quality and safe bananas. Currently, most bananas are ripened with calcium carbide, a ripening agent banned across South Asia for the risk it poses to both consumers and handlers. Given the lack of any accepted certifying authority or standard, convincing Bangladeshi consumers that a food product is safe is a challenge.

In response, the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Feed the Future Bangladesh Horticulture, Fruits, and Non-Food Crops Activity (USAID Feed the Future Bangladesh Horticulture Activity) recognized the benefits of capitalizing on an opportunity to increase farmer incomes, banana productivity, and profit by linking Hanay FoodsPro, an innovative agribusiness, with three agri-based social enterprises, two agri-input companies, and a government agency. Hanay FoodsPro anchors the initiative, purchasing raw bananas from farmers and then managing washing, sorting, grading, and ripening in chambers using a globally-recognized safe process. The agri-based social enterprises connect Hanay FoodsPro to 6,000 banana farmers, while input providers deliver ripening bags, bio-pesticides, and fertilizers. Beginning in 2024, they also plan to deliver disease-free banana plantlets.

Impact

With assistance from the USAID Feed the Future Bangladesh Horticulture Activity, sales of branded safe and high-quality bananas by Hanay FoodsPro have quadrupled in only four months, even with a sales price higher than regular bananas.

Farmers have received training in improved farming and harvest methods, with topics including plot land and planting preparation, application methods for biological pesticides, and proper use of biodegradable banana bags. It is clear that investing in public-private partnerships can effectively drive innovation and create impact – adding immense value in ways that benefit farmers and promote food security.

Providing targeted training and improving the quality of bananas is just one facet of how Chemonics is partnering with USAID to support farmer productivity and increase incomes through the Feed the Future Bangladesh Horticulture Activity.