The South Asian region, home to 1.6 billion people, constitutes 24.2% of the world’s population. The agriculture sector employs 70% of the population and contributes between 24% and 50% of the GDP across various countries in the region. On average, almost 60% of the regional population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. However, with average land holdings of less than 1 hectare, more than 25% of the population falls below the poverty line and faces acute food shortages.
Fruits and vegetables play a significant role in the agricultural economies of SAARC countries, which grow a wide variety of indigenous and exotic produce. Over the past several years, most SAARC member countries have maintained positive growth in fruit and vegetable production. This trend underscores the increasing importance of these crops in enhancing farmer incomes, alleviating poverty, and improving dietary quality. Vegetables, in particular, are a priority in most SAARC countries due to their lower risk compared to fruits. In South Asia, vegetable production was estimated at 100 million tons, with total utilization reported at 99.13 million tons. Despite the rapid increase in fruit and vegetable production, high post-harvest losses and a lack of value addition technologies often prevent farmers from maximizing the benefits of increased production.
To address these issues, the project, implemented in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, focuses on development of agri-food value chains and expansion of existing value chains to expose smallholders to new markets, new skills and technologies, and ensuring greater income security.
For example, in Bangladesh, the livelihood enhancement project successfully completed in August 2022 benefiting 100 farmers and more than 1,000 households as secondary beneficiaries in Bogura and Gazipur districts.
According to our implementing partner – Rural Development Academy (RDA) in Bogura and our lead coordinating agency – SAARC Agriculture Centre, farmers in the project areas are using the vacuum frying technology to produce jackfruit and banana chips, and making tomato sauce. They are aware of nutrition, hygiene, packaging and marketing.
“In terms of results on the ground, income of the farmers using these new practices of value addition have increased by at least 15 percent,” said Monirul Islam, Assistant Director at RDA. He said that the post-harvest losses for selected vegetables and fruits have reduced by 10 percent.
The value chains for fruits and vegetables differ significantly from those for food grains due to their perishable nature and food safety issues affecting both domestic and international markets. There is a need to envision a comprehensive agri-food system.
While agricultural processors and retailers are scaling up rapidly, farmers remain small and fragmented. Ensuring the economic viability of small farmers requires developing horizontal and vertical coordination, both domestically and globally. Efficient and equitable fruit and vegetable value chain development, focusing on competitiveness, inclusiveness, scalability, and sustainability, is essential to ensure fair prices for farmers and agribusiness participants. This approach will improve the income and livelihood of all actors within the value chain.
Project Objectives
Start Date : 8-October-2017
Project Budget : US $ 2,249,693.00 (SDF Funding USD 1,813,971.00 IA Contribution USD 435,722.00)
Status: Ongoing
Participating Countries
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
Beneficiary:
Number of Direct Beneficiaries
800 small farm families (50 per site * 2 sites = 100 per MSs)
Number of Indirect Beneficiaries
8000 farm families (500 per sites * 2 sites = 1000 per MSs)
