Digitizing The Agriculture Industry in Bangladesh
Digitizing The Agriculture Industry in Bangladesh
Digitizing The Agriculture Industry in Bangladesh
INDUSTRY IN BANGLADESH
Course: MKT330, Section: 3
Submitted By:
Name ID
Our term paper was conducted on a project that can have digital implementations. The project was
ideated by the respective team members and we came up with a concept that can help improve
Throughout the course of this project, we came across several challenges and overcame them with
great integrity. We would like to begin by thanking Almighty for giving us the strength and
perseverance to complete the term paper properly and on time. Appreciation and gratitude also go
to our course instructor, Mr. Mohammed Abdul Munim Evan (MEV) for helping us structure the
paper itself, as well assisting us in building up the different parts of the report throughout the
semester of Spring 2019. I would also like to thank my fellow classmates for offering valuable
suggestions which helped me improve our term paper. Lastly, I would like to extend my gratitude
towards everyone else, known or unknown from whom we successfully able to gather valuable
insights.
Origin is a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) product which translates analog, physical data into digital
information that are meaningful and very helpful at the same time. The hardware required are
called Wireless Sensor Nodes (WSN) which track relevant physical information such as
geographic location, temperature, moisture and can predict upcoming calamities or outbreaks
based on the surroundings. The hardware will be imported from India by striking a fruitful
partnership with Yuktix, and agricultural equipment focused startup.
The software bit is served from backend servers and data centers which hold huge databases of the
data gathered by the WSN’s and are fed to the mobile applications found on respective app-stores,
in a summarized fashion.
This product cum service can assist producers in tracking their crop health and ensuring top quality
products for their consumers, who may typically be large retailers or foreign clients – both of who
are concerned with the adulteration issues that pertain in the Bangladesh economy. This means
Origin will primarily have a revenue generation model from B2B transactions, but will also have
a free version of our application for the mass market to check on the quality of the products they
are purchasing.
We have also looked at how we will provide the service, the different action steps will be taking
in order to bring it to the market and scale it up phase and phase, and also defined broad level
KPI’s to monitor organizational performance to keep up to the plans made.
We conducted thorough SWOT Analyses and defined the 5S’s of service marketing and the 8P’s
of the marketing mix to arrive to a full circle on the planning, implementation and evaluation of
the entire project, i.e. Origin.
The level of food adulteration is so vast in Bangladesh that it is difficult to find a sub-sector of
food industry that are not adulterated with harmful chemicals or pesticides.
Greedy producers are motivated to grasp high levels of profits, while balancing supply with high
demand. As a cause of this, a large number of patients are suffering from life threatening diseases
such as cancer, kidney diseases, diabetes, etc.
A recent research conducted by Food Security Research (FSR), tested food items for identifying
presence of poisonous components and it suggests that higher than 3-20% of DDT (Dichloro-
Diphenyl-Trichloroethane), Aldrin, Chlordane, Heptachlor and other poisonous elements 40% of
food items. Out of these foods, 35% are in crops and 50% found in vegetables. Moreover, arsenic
was traced in 13 samples of rice and chromium were also found in about five rice items. Such risky
outputs that can potentially harm the end users permanently call for severe measures that require
big solutions. The concept of e-traceability in this digitalized world can be one potential step ahead
in the right direction, i.e. towards food health and safety.
Traceability is a method that has the capability to trace the history of food, the process of how it
was grown or produced, where it came from, how it was grown, what are the nutritional
components of the food, through means of data regarding any particular food. Therefore,
traceability has been successful in tackling issues of food safety and preserving quality through
digital implications that can solve complex analog problems. The concept of traceability is fairly
new, but has been implemented in small scale in many different parts of the world. In today’s
digital era, many are taking initiatives to tackle this pressing issue of food adulteration which often
lead to dangerous health problems - either immediately or over time.
Internal Traceability:
Internal Traceability serves the producers with production or harvest related data starting from
initial processes until the final distribution to the end-consumer, i.e. individual households. In
order to execute this, the way how Origin gathers data is with the help of battery and solar
powered panels called Wireless Sensor Nodes (WSN), which are dedicated sensors for
monitoring and gathering data of physical conditions of the environment. The WSN sensors are
able to gather data inputs such as: weather, humidity levels, temperature, soil pressure and
moisture, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide levels, wind direction and
geographic and terrain information.
The information collected in the database is auto-generated with the help of the physically
located signals in the producer’s farms, and final data is summarized into the smartphone app
dashboard where producers can monitor their farmer’s performance, keep track of their crop
health in real time, predict outbreak of disease and take actions based on red alerts presented by
the organized information ahead of time, potentially saving them tons of money and stress.
External Traceability:
External Traceability serves not only just the producers but also the clients of the producers or
individual households. It provides the users (clients of producers or individuals) with information
related to movement of the product in the distribution channel till it reaches the final consumer.
In this case, data is gathered through GPS or GIS (Geographic Information System) and manual
logging of information by regional coordinators of Origin. The logs consist of data such as Lot
The combination of both internal and external traceability completes the circle of ensuring food
health by giving relevant information to producers regarding their supplies and backend supply
chain, and also safety for individual households, allowing them to access publicized information
on the safety of the food they consume every day.
Although the idea would require extensive hardware and software to be deployed to tackle the
problem from all aspects, which of course, means extremely high investments, we have found an
alternative to our own problem. We are aiming to partner with other organizations, and use their
expertise to harness the possibilities of our idea, for example – going into a business agreement
with India-based start up firm called Yuktix who specialize in digital agriculture equipment can
be our biggest support to start off in the hardware sector.
Objective
5 S’s of Marketing
The 5 S’s of marketing is very effective in setting objectives, controlling and reviewing
performance of the business. Moreover, it can help to execute a more effective marketing
strategy. They are:
• Sell: For any organization this is the ultimate objective for them, i.e. to sell their products
or services to their target market. With Origin, in order to grow more sales, we would need
to focus on client acquisition, i.e. draw more leads and therefore ensure long-term sales
from these potential clients. To do this, during the initial stage our business, we will seek
to provide them with incentives that make potential clients feel like the commitment is
worthy through benefits such as trials early bird discounts. For the long term, we would
launch our operations fully to the mass consumer in order reach our ultimate goal of
ensuring safer food for everyone.
Strategy
Segmentation
We have selected four different segments - agricultural product exporters, the first; domestic
agricultural product suppliers and producers being the second; individual consumers being the
third and retailers/supermarkets being the last.
Targeting
Since we are going to focus more on business-to-business transactions in our initial stages, our
main targets are implementing both the internal and external traceability services to the exporters
and domestic suppliers.
The export businesses will typically be medium to large organizations working with a vast network
of farmers, and exporting to different countries around the world; while domestic producers often
supply to large retail chains and supermarkets across Bangladesh. These firms also act as
wholesalers in big marketplaces that act as distribution hubs - such as Karwan Bazar and also have
their own outlets, such as Shashya Prabartana.
As the business scales and costs reduce due to economies of scale, we can go for the mass market,
i.e. benefiting individuals through our external traceability functionality. These individuals are
most likely to be middle-aged men and women who do household chores, such as doing weekly
grocery shopping from local bazars and supermarkets. Even though not very efficient in terms of
adapting to new technology, the splurge of smartphone usage in Bangladesh can overcome the
barrier pretty easily by the time Origin becomes available for the public.
Positioning
For the positioning, Origin aims to grab the target customer’s mind by delivering value in terms
of saving significant costs by ensuring higher quality output with lower involvement and
eventually attracting better clients for their own businesses, meaning increased revenue. The
Tactics
Marketing Mix
The traditional 4 P’s of marketing has recently been developed to the 8 P’s that go further in terms
of defining the marketing strategy in this connected world. Each of the 8 P’s of marketing have
been discussed below in context of Origin:
• Product: As discussed in the ‘Idea’ section previously, Origin is a digital product, an app-
based software of some sort, that translates analog signals to digital data which are later
summarized into meaningful information for its users. Its core aim is to improve and ensure
food safety and reduce adulteration practices in agriculture-centric economies.
• Pricing: The pricing which would naturally be perceived as high for such advanced
technological implementations is actually pretty affordable in terms of the vast benefits it
brings to the table. Origin is a subscription-based SaaS product which requires its
subscribers, i.e. agribusinesses to pay a fixed monthly fee in exchange for the usability and
monitoring services provided from Origin’s service end. Since the revenue model for
Origin is sourced entirely from the business-to-business aspect, the services thus have to
be tailor made for individual clients, hence, the pricing modules will depend on a set of
variables, which when defined by potential clients, the budget can be proposed to. The
variables include the number of software users, number of WSN placement and
installations based on the area of land covered and degree of support services required. The
minimum retainer will start from 20,000 BDT, which compared to a one time fee (had the
businesses required to set up the hardware and get used to the software, would cost times
more)
• Promotion: Promotion strategies will be curated to attract only interested personnel of
potential clients, i.e. agribusiness owners or operations department employees. The
Situation Analysis
SWOT Analysis
In order to understand the market and related internal and external factors that may or may not
contribute directly to the success of the idea, we conducted a thorough SWOT analysis of the
Bangladesh market.
Strengths:
• Collaboration with other organizations that have already conducted research and
development could mean we get our hands on proprietary technology that can disrupt and
digitize the agriculture industry scenario.
• High barrier to entry due to heavy investment and technological barriers. It may require
high degree of expertise in technology which for us, are supported by Yuktix.
• It has the potential to transform the local agribusiness scenario which can serve as a very
strong selling point when trying to onboard vendors due to the vast benefits it brings and
minimal cost it incurs in exchange.
• Will require huge investments with high risk levels as it will require extensive
infrastructural developments in various rural agriculture-focused areas in Bangladesh.
• Training will play a major role in the success of the execution, as many personnel -
including outstation coordinators or regional coordinators have to be trained extensively to
be familiarized with the concept.
• Requires omni-channel integration which require high level of accuracy in integrating the
analog and digital media aspects. This could be a pressing challenge if not executed
perfectly as the vendors on the platform will conduct business that are potentially worth
millions and even a tiny flaw can cause severe damages to the business.
• The pricing model may not be sustainable for many producers who only distribute and sell
locally and thus may not be able to commit to retainer-based service offerings.
Opportunities:
• This is a new concept that will be introduced to Bangladesh, meaning this could have
first-mover advantages and can be scaled faster if the market adapts to the technology
well.
• Similar implementations are only done in the fishing sector, i.e. for shrimp only, and the
technology has limitations in regards to the category of food. Our idea has no barriers in
terms of product type or category and can be implemented to any item related to
agriculture and livestock farming.
• Low levels of limitations in terms of products can ensure that vendors can be onboarded
fairly easily as it serves a greater good since the producers can provide authentic safety
information to their buyers on any sort of agricultural product that they produce.
• Set up costs are convenient and cost-effective, meaning it can be implemented at scale
after clients see its potential.
• Can be expanded to other agri-based countries, such as Myanmar, India, Brazil,
Colombia and such with similar set ups and configurations of both hardware and
software.
• The implementation may require quite a few certifications from international regulatory
bodies, government agencies and ministries which may involve potentially slow down
growth of the organization as well as the product itself.
• The requirement for applying for certifications can potentially give away insider
information that are crucial to setting up the operations and delivering value – this may
lower barriers to entry made possible by availability of valuable information.
• The current Bangladeshi agriculture market and producers are too backwards in terms of
technological integrations and may not be ready for bearing such expenses of going
‘digital’ and experiment with such a new idea.
• Our physical placements of devices, even though resistant to adverse weather situations,
may still need regular maintenance and repair due to damage caused by occasional,
unprecedented disasters.
Competitor Analysis
Since the idea is a fairly new one in Bangladesh, direct competitors do not exist as of now.
However, there is another firm trying to provide similar services. The indirect competitor for
Origin is SourceTrace, a startup firm that is in their pilot phase currently. They have partnered
with global organizations and NGOs, WorldFish and USAID in order to ensure safety for the
fishing industry products in Bangladesh. They are currently only offering this service for shrimp
harvesters and exporters by ensuring export of healthy and safe shrimp from Bangladesh.
Action Steps
• Partner Acquisition: Before Origin comes to life, it is very important for us to get into partnerships
with government agencies such as the food ministry, agriculture ministry, health ministry, ICT
ministry and port authorities. We also need to form private partnerships with shipping companies,
server supporters, technology agencies and more. Lastly, it is also imperative that we form
agreements with international food safety authorities such as UN, FAO and more. Lastly, we also
have to go for business agreements with the Indian hardware producer and supplier, Yuktix. These
are necessary in order to secure the supply chain model as well as to have trusted partners who
vouch for the Origin’s benefits and impacts. This process will require approximately 8 to 10
months.
• Improvement and Debugging: In order to get into the market, Origin needs to have a pilot phase
for six months to test the technology and debug software system, improve processes and efficiency
in service delivery. In order to pilot the system, we will bring in a focus group consisting of a total
• Partner Acquisition: Onboard at least two independent international regulatory and food
safety bodies as ambassadors of the service within 8 months, including all paperwork and
guidelines set up.
• Improvement and Debugging: With the help of focus groups, improve and debug the app
to make it 95% market-ready within 5 months. The last month will be used for final review
and feedbacks.
• Piloting: Sign contracts with at least three local agribusinesses that supply in the domestic
market within 7 months from the start of this phase.
• Expansion: Sign contracts with at least three more domestic suppliers, and four
international suppliers within 8 months.
• Public Rollout: Drive 5,000 app downloads and 30,000 QR scans within the first 5 months
of this phase.
• Going Big: Expand to at least one feasible foreign country within one and a half years of
the start of this phase.
Recommendations
During our exhaustive secondary research, we came across a number of challenges, the most
worrisome of which was translating analog data to digital information from areas where networks
are very poor, at least now. For anyone trying to set up the infrastructure of such an idea, it is
highly recommended to set up a foolproof system which can allow device connectivity via newer
technological media such as blockchain and IoT, without requiring the need for wireless internet
connections.
Lastly, this idea has to be implemented keeping the long term in mind. The return on the
investments made can take up to 5-7 years to be positive, meaning the founders have to be very
patient with its success.
Conclusion
To bring this report to a full circle, our big idea is to transform the way people consume food by
ensuring safety, while also ensuring a stable income stream for both producers and farmers in an
industry which is known for extremely high rates of price fluctuation. Our big idea is also geared
to move Bangladesh forward by focusing on better traded goods and improved trade relations
through increased reliability, especially in the agribusiness sector.
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