INNOVATIVE PRESERVATION TECHNIQUE: Increasing the profit
margin (Success story from SHOUHARDO II Program)
Mr. Azizul Islam (34) is a Community Agriculture Volunteer (CAV)
of SHOUHARDO II Program working in Kotura Village located
within the Mymensingh District. With the support of CAVs,
SHOUHARDO II has been supporting processes to economically
empower the poor and marginalized farmers within the target
SHOUHARDO II communities. Where possible, SHOUHARDO II
taps into the indigenous knowledge or innovative processes that exist
at community level to maximize the profit of program beneficiaries
from their agricultural production. SHOUHARDO II provides support
to 159,100 farmers in FY 2012 through various mechanisms,
including training on comprehensive homestead gardening, new
technologies on rice cropping, flood/drought tolerant crop varieties,
water saving technology etc., input support like new improved variety
crop seeds, power tiller operated seeder, fruit saplings, fishing net,
etc.
Photo: Azizul with his innovation;
Photo@Md Monir Uddin Nishat,
Program Manager, SARA, SHOUHARDO
II Program
Md Monir
Uddin
Nishat,
As part of the program, Azizul Islam has cultivated two high yielding tomato
varieties
on 15
decimal
Program
Manager,
(translate to square feet) of his land, which produced approximately 270 kg tomatoes. During the
SARA,SHOUHARDO
II per
harvest season, supply of tomatoes in the local market is plentiful and the
price of tomatoes
kilogram plummets to Tk.3 per Kg. Confronted with a potential “profit loss” dueProgram
to surplus, Azizul
decided to “preserve” his production for at least three months to ensure that he would get a higher
market price. For this purpose, he used an alternative preservation process , which originated from his
own observations and ideas.
In a CAV meeting Azizul shared his proposal with Cluster Supervisor and Sub Assistant Agriculture
Officer (SAAO). Azizul started to collect ripe and semi ripe tomatoes from the field, including pedicel
in bunches, rather than individual tomatoes. Tomatoes were dried in sunlight at a moderate
temperature for 2-3 hours until the pedicles dried up.
Then he hung those bunched tomatoes in a room by
tying them up on their pedicels using thin rope at room
"It is not a very big issue for
temperature. At first Azizul eagerly observed the
anybody to get maximum
preservation process for 20 days and continued for 85
days. He preserved 320 kg of tomatoes using this
profit from his production if
process. After two and half months, he sold 160 kg
he just uses his brain and his
tomatoes at a rate of Tk.20 per Kg. In total he got
7000 taka by selling tomatoes whereas his total
innovative idea."
investment was 1200 taka. At the end of the process
the quality of the tomatoes was almost same as it was
-Azizul Islam
during harvest time and only ten percent of the
tomatoes were rotten or damaged.
Eventually Azizul shared his idea and experience with other farmers. The news of Azizul’s innovation
(tomato preservation) and success has quickly spread throughout the village. Local farmers, NGO
representatives, seed marketing representatives, and government official have visited his house to
observe and learn about his innovative preservation process and techniques. Reflecting on his
experience Azizul promises “During the next tomatoes season I will teach the technique to at least ten
other farmers myself, but I’m hopeful others will pick-it up as well”.
Innovative tomato preservation
technique by Azizul;
Photo@ Md Monir Uddin Nishat,
Program Manager, SARA,
SHOUHARDO II Program
Written By: Sajeda Begum, Regional Coordinator, SHOUHARDO II, CARE Bangladesh, Mymensingh Region