To increase the Bangladeshi contract farmers and food supply for Rohingya refugees
Description
Grameen Euglena, a joint venture company in Bangladesh between Euglena Co. Ltd and Grameen Krishi Foundation, led by Prof. Muhammad Yunus, has about 25 agricultural field supervisors. At first, field supervisors hold meetings with farmers in rural mung bean production areas to motivate and guide them and make contracts for mung bean cultivation. Each field supervisor contacts about 300 farmers. In these meetings, farmers gain knowledge of mung bean cultivation practices to increase productivity and quality.
In rural villages of Bangladesh, cash payment is the general method for agricultural product dealing. But, Grameen Euglena (GE) provides banking payment for rural farmers to avoid the security risk of GE employees carrying cash. GE also purchases products directly from farmers without a middleperson, offering better prices compared with the local market. Through this systematic operation, GE collaborates with farmers to motivate them and increase their participation.
After purchasing the mung beans, GE sorts and processes them in their own factory. The larger beans are for export because they are suitable as raw material for Moyashi sprouts in Japan. The smaller ones are for local consumption, because rural consumers prefer the smaller size in dal curry. This dal will be provided as food supply to Rohingya refugees through the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
By involving more farmers and increasing their income, this business can sustainably provide a food supply for refugees.
Overarching commitment (for commitments submitted pre-2025)
Title
Business solving social problems
Description
Euglena Co. (EUG) aims to create job opportunities and increase income for low-income Bangladeshi farmers through a social business model. This involves exporting 50% of the mung beans purchased from Bangladesh to Japan and supplying the remaining 50% to local consumers at a reasonable price.
In Japan, mung beans are the raw material of Moyashi sprouts. The country is totally dependent on importing the mung beans, with almost all of them coming from China. The import price of mung beans has also tripled compared to 15 years ago. On the other hand, in Bangladesh, it has been a long-standing challenge that 48% of the population does agriculture-related work and 70% of those live in rural areas facing poverty.
EUG aims to solve the challenges in both countries. EUG supports farmers by providing the technology to produce better quality mung beans, and by making a profit through direct-purchase of the harvested products at better prices than the local market. The purchased quality products are exported to Japan, contributing to the Japanese market as a sustainable supply source of mung beans.
In addition, since 2019, EUG has cooperated with the WFP. By supplying the farmers’ mung beans to WFP shops in Rohingya the refugee camps, it also contributes to solving food shortages and malnutrition faced by refugees.
Commitment:
• EUG will take the lead in sustaining and expanding its business to solve the social problems faced by Bangladeshi smallholder farmers and Rohingya refugees.
• EUG plans to increase the number of contract farmers from 2,000 in 2020 to 7,000 in 2022, which will increase the food supply to Rohingya refugees, raising the number of beneficiaries served from 1 million in 2020 to 5 million in 2022.
• EUG will also implement technical guidance and capital investment for sorting and processing to increase productivity and reduce the costs of local agricultural production. It will promote the independence of local farmers and aim for long-term continuation.
Many of our operations are restricted due to the influence of Covid-19. But, by collaborating with Japanese government agencies, UN agencies and local stakeholders, and by utilising our private-sector’s knowledge and experience, EUG shall strive to make our activity universal as an ideal role model of public–private partnership.
GNR assessment
| Verification status |
Unverified
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| SMARTness index |
Lower moderate
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Details
| Nutrition Action Classification(s) |
Policy >
Food supply chain
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| N4G Summit theme(s) |
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Measurement
| Key indicator | Number of meals supplied for Rohingya refugees |
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| Measurement plan | Collect own data |
| Value | Measurement date | |
|---|---|---|
| Baseline | 1,000,000 Meals | 2020 |
| Target | 5,000,000 Meals | December 2023 |
