Sharif Ahmed, Abdullah Miajy, Alanuzzaman Kurishi, Prakashan Chellattan Veettil
The CGIAR Regional Integrated Initiative Transforming Agrifood Systems in South Asia (TAFSSA) recently organized a regional workshop focused on expanding, branding, and creating market linkages for biofortified rice in Bangladesh. The workshop occurred on September 26, 2024, at the OFRD conference room, BARI, Rangpur. Approximately 45 individuals from various sectors, including government organizations such as the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), Bangladesh Institute for Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM), and Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) participated in the event. Additionally, private sectors, including auto rice mills, supermarkets, traders, and seed companies, as well as cooperatives and lead farmers specializing in biofortified rice, played a vital role in the workshop.
Since 2022, TAFSSA has been actively involved in expanding and establishing market linkages for biofortified rice through collaborative efforts with key stakeholders, including BRRI, DAE, seed companies, auto rice millers, traders, and various private sector entities.
Biofortified rice is an innovative agricultural solution aimed at addressing malnutrition. In Bangladesh, where rice is a staple food for most of the population, biofortified rice varieties significantly contribute to public health, given the high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, especially in zinc and iron. Adopting biofortified rice varieties would significantly increase daily micronutrient intake and help holistically alleviate malnutrition. Although Bangladesh already has some biofortified rice varieties, their expansion is limited.
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| Dr. Mohammad Khalekuzzaman, the Director General of BRRI, talking about the biofortified rice. |
The workshop aimed to facilitate collaborative discussions on biofortified rice's production and marketing challenges and the strategies to overcome these challenges. Dr. Md. Khalequzzaman, DG, BRRI, chaired the workshop, and other special guests included Deputy Directors of Rangpur, Nilphamari, and Dinajpur and chief scientific officers from the rice farming division, BRRI Gazipur. The program was coordinated by Abu Abdullah Miajy, Specialist, IRRI.
Alanuzzaman, the field coordinator of CIMMYT Dinajpur, introduced TAFSSA and its partners, explaining how TAFSSA works and mentioning the workshop's objectives and the names of the national partners with which TAFSSA is collaborating.
Dr. Sharif Ahmed of IRRI provided a comprehensive overview of TAFSSA's efforts to expand biofortified rice and its connections to the market. He discussed the specific biofortified rice varieties that TAFSSA is working on, its challenges, and how TAFSSA has established market linkages by collaborating with farmers' groups, traders, cooperatives, husking, and auto rice mills.
During the workshop, Dr. Rakibul Islam, principal scientist at BRRI, and Dr. Muhammad Ali from BINA provided an overview of the current status of biofortified rice varieties within their respective organizations. They also elaborated on their forthcoming plans and initiatives in these domains. Dr. Rakibul mentioned that BRRI doesn’t have quality aman biofortified varieties, but they have very good boro varieties. He also mentioned that BRRI dhan100 and BRRI dhan102 are promising biofortified varieties for boro because their yield potentiality is good and grain quality is of premium types. Dr. Ali mentioned that BINA has developed only one biofortified rice variety (Binadhan-20) for the aman season. The grain quality of this variety is very good, but the limitation is low yield potential.
Various stakeholders expressed their opinions on biofortified rice during the workshop. A lead farmer from the Nilphamari region said, "In our village, we received BRRI dhan100, biofortified rice for the boro season. We found a good yield, and with the support of IRRI and the collection point, we sold this rice for BDT, which was 5- 8/kg higher than the other normal rice. We heard this variety has zinc nutrition, so I also ate this rice and found it good. I am happy with this variety, and I will continue to cultivate it."
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| BRRI and BINA present the current status of biofortified rice varieties. |
Jamiul Islam, the manager of Avijhit Group, stated that they previously did not have a provision to purchase paddy directly from the farmers. They usually bought paddy from traders. However, after being invited by the IRRI team and participating in their program, they have started purchasing rice directly from the farmers. IRRI provided them with a list of collection points and addresses, and their field staff also maintained regular communication with Avijhit Group. With IRRI's support, they have previously branded different premium-quality rice varieties. This time, they have already purchased 12 tonnes of BRRI dhan100, and they will soon mill and pack them as biofortified rice under the name BRRI dhan100 chal.
Mst. Alema Begum, the president of Alampur Federation in Taragonj, Rangpur, mentioned that with the support of IRRI, they have purchased 1 ton of BRRI dhan100 paddy. They plan to mill and package the paddy, and if there is a good demand for it, they will encourage the 800 members in their federation to cultivate this variety. Additionally, she requested seed support of this variety for the members of her federation.
Md. Masud Sultan, DD Marketing at BADC Rangpur, mentioned that the food ministry aims to purchase 5% of biofortified paddy, but the price is a concern. Biofortified paddy has no price advantage, making it difficult to collect these paddies. BRRI dhan74, a biofortified variety, is suitable for late boro conditions (after potato harvesting). Last season, we sold 400 tonnes of seeds of this variety in the Rangpur region. Although the demand for seeds of biofortified variety BRRI dhan84 is declining, the demand for BRRI dhan100 is increasing.
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| Questions and comments from the workshop participants |
Md. Shakil Akter, Assistant Director and a representative from the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM), mentioned that they usually work to know the demand for agricultural products in the market. This workshop is a great opportunity to learn about biofortified rice, which may benefit my future work.
Md. Nuruzzaman, DD, DAE Dinajpur, mentioned that despite previous efforts by many organizations to work on biofortified rice, they were unsuccessful. The main reasons were the lack of quality varieties, awareness, and effective marketing. He appreciated IRRI and CIMMYT's efforts to create market linkages for biofortified rice. He emphasized the importance of marketing and branding to expand biofortified rice. Additionally, he highlighted the need to collaborate with doctors so that they would recommend zinc rice instead of zinc tablets or syrup.
Dr. Mohammad Khalekuzzaman, the Director General of BRRI, expressed his appreciation for this important workshop and thanked IRRI and CIMMYT for organizing it. He emphasized the need to properly identify BRRI's released rice varieties from production to consumers, ensuring that farmers receive fair prices and consumers obtain pure milled rice. Despite BRRI releasing 115 varieties, only a few have gained popularity in the market.
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