Shwapno trains farmers on pesticide use

Shwapno has taken an initiative to raise awareness among growers on the proper use of pesticides and the best farming practices.

The retail chain has been educating some 200 southern farmers on the time crops have to be given after application of pesticides and other protective chemicals before going for harvests to ensure that no residue of substances applied remains.

“We have been using pesticides for years to grow vegetables and were unaware that residues of chemicals remain in the crops unless we wait,” said 40-year-old Rabiul Islam, who grows beans and pointed gourd.

“Now, we wait for up to 10 days before harvesting some of the vegetables,” said the farmer, who cultivates one bigha of land at Shahbazpur village in Jashore, one of the country's major vegetable-producing districts.

He is not alone. As many as 40 vegetable farmers in the locality have been trained on Shwapno's “Good Agricultural Practice”.

The move comes amidst heightened concerns over food safety and presence of pesticide residues in fresh produce as growers tend to use excessive toxic chemicals to protect crops from pests and profit from the market.

Agricultural workers and scientists said many farmers apply plant protection chemicals and harvest vegetables with no idea of the health effects it would ultimately have on consumers.

They mainly apply pesticides to avoid losses and ignorance is one of the main reasons behind improper use and untimely harvests, according to agriculturists.

Islam said he learnt about Pre-harvest Interval (PHI) and Good Agricultural Practice from a training under a project named “SHUDDHO”, initiated by Shwapno with support from the USAID's Agricultural Value Chains (AVC) project.

“Now, I am growing crops and harvesting them after certain intervals so that pesticide residues do not remain in my crops,” he said when a delegation led by USAID Mission Director Derrick Brown visited his village on September 20.

Shwapno said it collects vegetables from the trained farmers at the local market price to encourage them to follow the best practices and ensure the cultivation of vegetables and fruits fit for consumption.

The retail chain sells the produce through its stores, mainly in Dhaka, under the brand Shuddho to ensure that its customers get safe food.

“This is a win-win situation for farmers and consumers,” said Sabbir Hasan Nasir, executive director of ACI Logistics, which runs Shwapno.

He said farmers were getting higher yields and using less amounts of pesticide which in turn reduces their production cost.  “On the other hand, consumers are getting safe green vegetables from us,” he said.

ACI in a statement said Shuddho was a 100 percent safe and traceable agricultural crop brand that promises complete compliance of local good agricultural practice standards in the farming process.