The United Nations International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Grameen Euglena, a joint venture between Japan's Euglena Co Ltd and Bangladesh's Grameen Krishi Foundation, are collaborating on an initiative that supports smallholder farmers to cultivate mung beans.

This high-value crop will help them to increase their income and tap into international markets.

The collaboration was launched yesterday in Dhaka with a letter of intent signed by Arnoud Hameleers, country director of Bangladesh at IFAD, and Yukoh Satake, co-chief executive officer of Grameen Euglena, said a press release.

The partnership aims to strengthen public-private partnerships with IFAD's implementing partners in Bangladesh.

It will enable farmers supported by IFAD-financed projects to access international markets, while Grameen Euglena will also have access to good quality mung beans produced in large volumes by Bangladeshi farmers. As part of this initiative, coastal farmers will be trained in technology used in Japan and given technical assistance to access international mung bean value chains.

"IFAD values collaborative initiatives. This renewed partnership will spur engagement with the private sector in Bangladesh. If interests are aligned and the proposed activities improve rural farmers' conditions, we will endeavour to engage in more collaborations like this," said Hameleers.

During the six-year partnership from 2022 to 2028, IFAD and Euglena will work together to ensure availability of good quality agricultural inputs at an affordable price, and train farmers to efficiently use inputs for safe, nutritious and diversified production.

"Grameen Euglena is eager to eliminate the poverty and malnutrition of the farmers in rural areas. A key factor to achieve this goal is to generate synergies between the public and private sectors. The collaboration between IFAD and Grameen Euglena will help both organizations achieve their respective goals. We are convinced that it will become an innovative model for new forms of international cooperation," said Satake.

The joint initiative will focus on facilitating market access for producers in climate-vulnerable coastal regions, especially women and smallholders, and support farmers to meet quality standards and gain access to the export market.