Subscribing to Hamdu Mia's vegetables

One of the great things about packaging is that it presents consumers with the 'first moment of truth' with the product they are contemplating to purchase, consume and/or refer to others. The 2nd moment of truth is when you actually unpack the product and start using it, consuming it. Sticking to the first moment of truth, ever wonder how that could be used for telling stories about agricultural goods?


The idea is simple and so is the question I am asking. Would it make any difference to your purchasing decision or the way you look at a bag full of brinjals or cabbiages if the pack has a picture of the farmer who produced it, which part of rural Bengal he hails from, his name and specialities? Although the idea seems straight forward but like all other good things in life, there are challenges in the context of Bangladesh. Lets look at why and why not, how and how not - you would want to do this.

1. It has the potential to brand specific farmers who actually grow the agricultural produce and who actually deserve all the credit and recognition for their hard work. So even if Nandan or Agora sells vegetables, there is no harm in recognising the source.

2. As a regular buyer of fruits, vegetables, I don't think it will make any revolutionary impact on my purchase decisions of such day to day food items which are not cost sensitive too, like buying electornic goods. However, if I get to read a story about the farmer..say 'Hamdu Mia' who carefully produced the nice and healthy looking cabbiages in his humble land of 0.5 acres situated in Panchbibi in Joypurhat, North-West Bangladesh...it just has an added possibility of giving a face to the otherwise faceless vegetables and fruits. It also has the chance of a story telling to take place, attempting to establish a human connection between the consumer and the producer.

3. There is no mystery in the fact that the huge number of intermediaries that buy bulk agri-produce from the original farmers and make it available in city markets make the whole scenario very complicated. There is a high chance that the story of the actual farmer might get lost in carriage and change of hands before it reaches the city from the rural fields.

4. Although some upclass city malls sell vegetables and fruits, its largely sold in kitchen markets in neighbourhoods by retailers who might not be interested to 'tell any kind of story of any farmer' whatsoever.

It seems that the only people who can infact introduce some sort of storytelling element to this are the Agoras and Nandans. They can easily accommodate a picture of the farmer along with a short story of the journey the vegetables made in the same board displayed for price in the aisles and shelves. I agree to the fact that telling a story of the producer of the fruit will not make them taste any more delicious or the vegetables any more healthier...but who knows...if you can give it a right spin backed with evidence that the 'potatoes produced by Hamdu Mia' or the 'Brinjals coming from Feni' are the best in terms of quality and food value..then there you have it! However, we better give due credit to Hamdu Mia when his goods get sold well in the city vegetable markets, some sort of a mechanism to recognise him, monetary or otherwise, would make him happy and appreciated.

Photographer : S. A. Mahmud Salim

For more details, please visit : http://www.panchagarh.info

Is it retail invasion?

Asjadul Kibria at http://www.thedailystar.net/pf_story.php?nid=98892

Hope Win wins! Hope Agriculture wins!

I guess it was back in 1994 when Agricultural Science was introduced as an elective subject for SSC examinations in Bangladesh. I, along with my rebel and restless classmates, remember raising eyebrows and teasing the fact that we will have to learn now how to cultivate land and milk cows! 15 years is not a short time, but if I remember clearly, boys were supposed to study Agri Science while our 'homely' female classmates were seen heading for the Home Science subjects. They were supposed to grow up to be specialists in cooking tasty food, sewing baby clothes and manage overall households. Whereas we, were supposed to invest a significant portion of our knowledge, time and expertise in agriculture of Bangladesh when we grow up. We were I guess too young to realise then that Agricultural Science was more than just another subject to clear in SSC, rather it was the science about the very backbone of Bangladesh's economy, its existence. I hated to learn about the symptoms of ranikhet disease of poultry and we had a good laugh when a truant gangmate boasted off drawing an image of milking a cow in the exam paper. I don't remember any of us ever wanted to become educated farmers or even venture anywhere near the agricultural services, produces or any related area when we grow up. Such was our allergy, such was our notion, such was our prejudice.

Its certainly an eye opener that there are still innovative entrepreneurs who are showing the way not only to young generation but to other entrepreneurs as well...the value and merit of agriculture related businesses, startups and services in Bangladesh. Win Inc. is one of such companies who has invested their interest and expertise in collecting, collating, validating, digitising and distributing latest, timely and tested information on agriculture, fishery, poultry, livestock covering more than 80 items...all in Bangla. They have set up an impressive collection of this knowledge at www.ruralinfobd.com which can be termed as the digital gateway to agri-information in Bangla. The company also works as the content generator for agri-information to be collected and used by rural farmers, through the Community Information Centers of Grameen Phone, all around the country. They are also providing information to Banglalink's 7676 Jiggasha helpline, which is an agri-call center. Such noble has been the companies dedication towards this line of business that they have recently been nominated for an award in the e-agriculture category in the eIndia 2009 conference in India. Would be a good gesture to vote for Win, who are showing how agri information in Bangla can not only be a successful business model but also has the ability to serve numerous farmers of Bangladesh by providing them with timely and accurate information on their crops, livestocks, etc.

I still remember attending Agricultural Science classes in school and think it was a great opportunity wasted. Seeing companies like Win Inc. making sense out of this is a great learning and realisation too. I am sure we needed to hone our skills and knowledge with something that is more relevant in the context of Bangladesh. Agriculture that is. Hope Win wins in eIndia and in every other venture.