Maize Business to Address Base of Pyramid (BoP): A Case Study on Bangladesh

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1 Maize Business to Addess Base of Pyamid (BoP): A Case Study on Bangladesh Autho s Details: (1) Rahma Akhte * (2) Nusat Hafiz (3) Tania Akte (1) BRAC Business School, BRAC Univesity, 66 Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh (2) BRAC Business School, BRAC Univesity, 66 Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh (3) BRAC Business School, BRAC Univesity, 66 Mohakhali, Dhaka 1212, Bangladesh Abstact The case study investigates the ways to offe innovative appoaches in maize poduction and align maize maketing to addess the extemely poo people, i.e., the base of the pyamid (BoP). Authentic BoP maketing stategy is diected to the extemely poo population, consume oientation (with featues of adaptability and consume education), and fai and inclusive gowth. The poject facilitato seeks to have development outcomes of impoved maize vaieties (high-yielding, stess-toleant, nutientenhanced), enhanced food secuity, impoved livelihoods, bette nutition and impoved health and educed ual povety. The case study appoaches outes to eliminate the fundamental easons of the povety by following developmental pocesses to tansfom the whole situation. The poject aims to facilitate communication and dissemination of esults to all stakeholdes in ode to enhance knowledge of maize poduction systems. It also covets to povide synthesized and infomative analysis thoughout the inte-pofessional oganizations value chain focusing the ual fames. Keywods: Balance of Pyamid, Fai and Inclusive gowth, Development Pogamming 1. Intoduction Maize, as the thid most significance ceeal cop of Bangladesh has been positioned ight afte ice and wheat. It became a majo souce of employment fo Cha dwelles, especially smallholdes and women. Maize is cultivated in almost all the disticts of Bangladesh except in Naail Distict (DAE, 2010). Impot fills the demand gap and pice pevails at impot paity whee wold con pice dominates in the domestic maket as well. Bangladesh usually impots fom egional and neighboing counties, like India and Myanma that have suplus in maize poduction. At pesent, maize is gown on only about 16.2 thousand hectaes in the county (Quasem; 1999). Out of the existing coveage, Rajshahi division has the lagest shae (60%); followed by Dhaka Division (20%); though not all disticts of the two divisions expeience fast gowth, except fo Dinajpu, Dhaka, Boga, Rangpu, Mymensingh and Kushtia. As agicultue is the key deteminant of the income level of aound 70% of the county population; this would be scutinized and sketched to impove the pesent condition of people, especially the small fames. Bangladesh is blessed with geogaphical featues that complement effective cop havesting. Wetlands, hills, plains, ivebanks- the county boasts having all sot of geogaphical chaacteistics mashed up in one place. This divesity needs to be taken into account. (Bhuiya & Mohiuddin, 2013) Maize faming has impoved the lives of thousands of fames in the geate nothen egion. Owing to this, a full-fledged supply chain of maize poduction has flouished, ceating moe employment oppotunities. (Dev & Nuuzzaman, 2006). 2. Pupose/ Objective: In an effot to confont the challenges Bangladeshi maize fames continue to face, the facilitatos ae patneing with Nothen Poduces to impove the livelihoods of maize fames in vaious disticts including Dinajpu, Dhaka, Boga, Rangpu, Mymensingh and Kushtia. The taget goup in the maize secto is the small, maginal, and medium fams with a special emphasis in the chas and aeas whee summe maize is cultivated. In ode to implement the poject, all actos would wok togethe to integate fames fo getting access to emuneative oppotunities in existing o new makets. The implementation tactic should be to incease poduction, impove esouce poductivity and secue access to post-havest maketing oppotunities. This would ceate new makets fo maize businesses and help the taget goup achieve bette access to finance. The facilitatos aim to develop sustainable maket mechanisms by intevening in five boad aeas, such as: 1) Pomoting pofitable copping patten, 2) Impoving access to quality inputs, 3) Expanding contact faming system, 4) Intoducing technological innovation, and Page 20

2 5) Open access to new makets outside of poulty feed. In a nutshell, the oveall objective is to impove decision making in ode to offe innovative appoaches in maize poduction and align maize maketing focusing the ual people who officially live below the povety line in Bangladesh. 3. Liteatue Review 3.1 Business at base of the pyamid (BoP) Out of six and a half billion inhabitants aound the globe, somewhat between thee and fou billion people ae intensely stalled in povety o at bottom of the pyamid. Also efeed to as the "Base of the Pyamid" (o BoP), the tem should not mean to disespect the poo people; athe should be a concen fo people living in affluent o othe cicumstances as this BoP is the pime souce of social distubances such as was and teoism. The size of the population in developing counties such as in Bangladesh and Democatic Republic of Congo ae 163 million and moe than 75 million espectively. The notewothy pecentage of this population living below the povety line (about 30 to 70 pecent) along with the GDP gowth ates (between 5 to 10 pecent pe yea) of these developing counties has made BoP makets attactive. (see Exhibit 1). Exhibit1. Size and Gowth of BoP makets Pahalad and Hammond (2002) opposed the above-mentioned idea as the poo have no money; and ae too woied fo fulfilling thei essential needs to misuse thei money on non-essential goods; and the BoP is not able to apply advanced technology. Howeve, Kanani (2008) and Kaamchandani et al. (2011) stated that it would be vey impactical not to have any expectation fom the consumes at the BoP. It is unlikely that due to lack of infomation, lack of education, and economic, cultual and social depivation, the BoP consumes would tun to be iational consumes, and deliveing moe consumption options with no inceased impact on thei welfae. 3.2 Business and the BoP Thee have been many effots to make povety histoy, but the poblem emains. It is seen that, most of the diect aids ae coming fom intenational effot, individual govenments, non-govenmental oganisations (NGOs), chaitable donations (individuals and bodies) such as chuches, o fom chaitable Page 21

3 foundations whee most of the aids ae povided to deal with emegencies, such as famine o wa. Howeve, it is obseved that, thee is a necessity of taking attempts to ovecome the fundamental easons of the povety by following some developmental pocesses to tansfom the whole situation with highest emphasis given on changing the entie situation. Though the non-govenmental oganisations and foundations wok to fight against oot-causes and ceate awaeness of the needs and possible solutions in an attempt to emove povety fom the wold, the business community with thei stongest influence can help them make changes in the situation. Moeove, moe emphasize is placed on the lage multinational copoations (MNCs) as they can influence how the societies opeates and because of the lage supply chains and smalle size, Small and medium-sized entepises (SMEs), ae also getting attention to get close to the action. Actual BoP stategies involve active paticipation of local people in design, poduction, and distibution fo developing a new poduct o sevices. The pupose of these poducts is to adically educe pices compaed to simila items of developed counties. Though these contexts ae backeted togethe by some unavoidable factos, including low puchasing powe, lack of infastuctues, lack of oganization and couption, yet this ceates oppotunity to instill innovations in poduct design, poduction, employee taining, distibution methods and delivey. This novel method leads to augment business-pofit and also motivates the copoate social esponsibility (CSR) pactice by the elated stakeholdes. 3.3 BoP Maketing Stategies: Defining the Concept Even though all BoP poducts and sevices taget BoP consumes, thee ae vaious ways of defining and measuing povety which focuses on study of diffeent taget populations (Kolk, Rivea- Santos, & Ruf ın, in pess). Banejee and Duflo (2007) stated that a povety theshold would be of $1 to $2 each peson, fo evey day whee the numbe of this population woldwide was foecasted to be about 2.6 billion individuals (Wold Bank, 2011). Having this minimum income steam, consumes ae hadly able to buy what they need. Hence, pice has become a vital facto of BoP maketing stategies. As low pice yields low pofits, high volumes should be sold to ensue pofitability; fo which poducts should be easily accessible at neighbouhood stoes at convincing low cost. Theeby, the hudles to each and delive goods to consumes followed by lack of tanspotation and distibution infastuctues should be esolved. In a nutshell, to seve the BoP effectively, affodability and accessibility ae essential featues of poduct stategy. Pahalad (2004) stated that the impotance of needs, education, and skills of BoP consumes and usage situation and constains ae also impotant fo successfully designing BoP poduct stategy. London and Hat (2010, p. 154) stated that thee is a challenge, to make poducts which is flexible to usage situation and, in tems of thei living condition (such as an absence of efigeation), skills and level of education (fo example, eading ability) and cultue (habits, values), poducts need to be modified BoP. Moeove, thee is also necessity of education to ead the instuctions of using the poducts, theefoe modification to consumes needs and education become two featues of consume s oientation of BoP. Finally, BoP maketing stategy is also concened with development of local people and quality-of-life and wellbeing issues besides maket oientation. Payaud and Matinet (2010) descibe BoP stategies simila to advanced CSR stategies, in which business copoations taget vey poo segments (eaning pe day is two dollas o below) and poduce new poducts and sevices to satisfy fundamental needs while maintaining a balance in the eco-systems. Fo this focus, BoP stategies similes humanitaian aid. BoP stategies also deals with the concept of fai and inclusive gowth fo long tem development. Inclusive gowth as a pat of its public and business policy goals ty to distibute esouces towads pogammes that woks with povety eduction and ceating employment oppotunities, also this gowth stategy ensues fundamental sevices fo the poo, equality of chances and empoweing though skill building and education (Geoge, McGahan, & Pabhu, 2012, p. 661). Given the tageted population of BoP, which ae customes, employees, entepeneus, supplies, subcontactos, etailes, o spokespesons; the inclusive gowth leads to social innovation, Hence, authentic BoP maketing stategy (see Exhibit 2) compises of: - a maketing stategy diected to the vey poo (with featues of affodability and availability), - consume oientation (with featues of adaptability and consume education), and Page 22

4 - fai and inclusive gowth. Exhibit 2: The dimensions of a BoP Maketing Stategy Eventually, it can be concluded that, BoP stategy deals with accessibility and affodability as vey basic maketing stategy to ensue available poducts at low pices, then in tems of consumes needs, education and usage situation the poducts should be adapted, including educating consumes. Then it ends with ensuing equal employment oppotunities, tageting them as customes, employees and othe pat of the whole system to impove thei well-being as pat of fai and inclusive gowth. 3.4 Theoy of Change: A theoy of change has two boad components. The fist component involves conceptualizing and opeationalizing thee coe fames of the theoy. These fames define: a. Populations: who ae being seved. b. Stategies: what stategies would accomplish desied outcomes. c. Outcomes: what you intend to accomplish. The theoy of change detemines all building blocks equied to achieve the long-tem goal. This set of connected building blocks -- intechangeably efeed to as outcomes, esults, accomplishments, o peconditions is depicted on a map known as a pathway of change o change famewok. The famewok is a gaphic epesentation of the change pocess. Contibutions by the poject facilitatos include: a. Output(s): High-yielding and stess-toleant maize lines and vaieties. b. Immediate Outcome(s): Impoved maize vaieties (high-yielding, stess-toleant, nutient-enhanced) adapted and pomoted by NGOs, and pivate seed companies. c. Intemediate Development Outcomes(s): Smallholde fames adopt impoved maize vaieties (highyielding, stess-toleant, nutient-enhanced) o inceased yields of maize fo smallholde fames, amplified income of smallholde fames and impoved diet nutition. d. Stategic Goal(s): Enhanced food secuity, bette livelihoods, supeio nutition and impoved health. e. System Level Outcomes: Reducing ual povety. 4. Scope of Wok (SoW): Page 23

5 Stategies fo scope of wok fo the key facilitatos ae given below: a. Sustainable Intensification and Income Oppotunities fo the poo: The facilitato aims to both pilot and scale-up and scale-out pofitable, esouce-efficient maize-based faming systems with the aim to impove system poductivity, esilience, and sustainability and incease incomes of smallholdes. b. Integated Post-havest Management: The Integated post-havest management facilitato aims to educe post-havest losses and impove food safety and maket oppotunities though the commecial poduction and distibution of maize stoage technologies (silos and bags). 5. The Business Case: Just as othe commecial staches, maize stach has many uses. It is used as food in puddings, soup and gavy thickenes, as cold o hot wate laundy stach, as a pefeential wate absobe in baking powde, in the manufactue of confectioney, in sizing and finishing textiles and papes, as a binding agent in papes, in making adhesive pastes, in convesion to dextin s, which ae the bases of many adhesives, in syup and sugas, as a binding and diluting agent in the pepaation of phamaceutical poducts such as pills and tablets, in cosmetics, etc (Poject Ethio: Details of 400 Business Ideas). In addition the poduction of maize stach yields some by-poducts that have a high commecial value. Although it is pimaily used as human food in developing egions of the wold, maize is one of the most impotant aw mateials fo animal feed poduction and biofuels in developed counties. Maize is a favoite aw mateial fo animal feed. It is cheape than many of the othe feed altenatives and povides the equied nutitional content fo livestock. As a esult, ove 60 pecent of maize poduced woldwide is used in feed poduction. In ual nothen egion of Bangladesh, a maize fame gains access to soil testing sevices, to maket pice tends that help him/ he decide what to gow and when to sell, and to highe pices fo his/ he cop than he/ she may obtain in the local auction maket. The new system is an innovation of a lage maize-buying copoation, which also benefits fom cost saving and moe diect maket access. Anothe impotant aspect fo empoweing the poo people is to povide pope financing facilities though financial institutions. Recently ideas have been coming out thoughout the wold that does not equie handing ove cash to the poo. Fo instance, Katalyst is one such oganization that is woking with maize fames of Bangladesh though shaecopping. (Katalyst, 2012) This pocess involves the land owne getting a shae of the pofit fo his land and the fame getting the est fo his labou (Sawa, 2012). Since the pooest of people of ou county ae not vey well educated, they lack the necessay skills and knowledge fo maize poduction which may be addessed. Bangladesh is a developing county with a huge population living on o below the povety line. Most of these people live in ual aeas and they mostly offe physical labou as a mean of eaning thei livelihood. These poo and extemely poo people can be addessed as the base of the pyamid (BoP). The key aim of intevention is to enhance the maize faming and integate maketing into maize poduction by addessing base of pyamid (BoP). Page 24

6 5.1 Schedule Poject Management Impovement Effot Estimate in Planned Stat Planned End Poject Phase 1 months Date Date Resouce Initiate Poject and Centalize Coe Activities Develop Poject Chate Define Scope of wok 6 days Name1, Coe Team Define Requiements of esouces Name1, Coe 7 days (engagement of stakeholdes) Team Identify High-Level Roles 2 days Name1 Develop High-Level Budget 3 days Name1 Identify High-Level Contol Stategies 1 day Name1 Consolidate and Publish Poject Chate 2 days Name1 Hold Review Meeting 1 day Name1 Revise Poject (if equied) 1 day Name1 Gain appovals 1 day Name1 Plan Poject Develop Wok Plan Develop Wok Beakdown Stuctue 12 days Name1 Develop Poject Staffing Plan 30 day Name1 Develop Poject Budget 7 days Name1 Develop Poject Contol Plan Develop Communication Plan 5 days Name1 Develop Quality Management Plan 10 days Name1 Finalize Poject Plan and Gain Appovals 2 days Name1 Total Planning schedule befoe execution to the field 90 days (03 months) schedule Execute and Contol Poject (01 yea 09 months schedule) Design Famewok Intevention with technology and equipment Oiented fims Name1, coe team Communication with components of finance and insuance Name1, coe team Intevention with labo and Tanspot 180 days Name1, coe team Sevices composite Skills, Capacity and Empowement schedule Name1, coe team Oiented Collaboation with quality seed selle Name1, coe team Collaboation with Pesticide selle Name3, Name2 Intevention with con based food pocessing industy Name3 Build the Famewok Wite the famewok content Name2 Test the Famewok Test usability with BoP 90 day (01 coe team, eview season) team Adjust poject based on BoP and othe stakeholde feedback 30 days Name2, Name3 Implement Famewok Move famewok to maize poduction envionment 330 days Name1 Close the Poject Conduct Post-Poject Review Name1, coe team, eview team 5.2 Resouces: Collaboation with quality seed selle: As a pomote, Page 25

7 the aim is to develop sustainable maket mechanisms by intevening in pomoting pofitable copping patten which equied collaboation with quality seed selle. Bangladesh Agicultual Development Copoation (BADC) has been the only public secto seed maketing oganization which supplies 90-95% quality seeds (BARC, 1990) of the fomal secto. Public secto endeavo fo poduction and maketing of seed had begun in 1954 with ceation of 22 seed fams coveing an aea of 2200 ha. The BADC had vitual monopoly and command ove the quality seed maket. The same situation is still now pevailing except vegetables and hybid seeds which ae supplied mainly by the pivate secto. Among the pivate limited company, ACI Ltd., Ganges Seeds, Syngenta, MacDonald (Bangladesh), Supeme Seed Company, Blue Moon Intenational Seed Poduce, Inam Afoza, Metal Seed, Enegy Pack- Ago Ltd., Getco Seeds, Getco Ago Vision Ltd., Nothen Seed Ltd., Kishan Seed Int., Mallika Seeds Company, Supeme Seed Company, Aftab Bohumukhi Fam, BRAC, East West Seed Company, Tin Pata Quality Seed Ltd., Syngenta, National Seeds Co. Ltd., A. R. Malik Co. Pvt. Ltd., Sajeeb Seed etc ae most pominent supplies of quality seeds. Thee ae seveal multinational agibusiness companies that ae not diectly opeating in Bangladesh but have maketing agents fo thei poducts in Bangladesh. Fo example, maketing agents of Monsanto (Ameican agochemical and agicultual biotechnology copoation headquateed in Missoui) has been found to vey active in the Bangladeshi fam land, pesticides and cop potection. Using pesticide fo maize poduction: 85% of pesticides ae sold to fames by local level etailes. These etailes ae supplied by companies poducing and/o tading such pesticides and medicines. The pesticide companies geneally dispense thei poducts diectly to local pesticide etailes though sales epesentatives o deales outlets. The emaining 15% of the pesticides ae sold diectly to the fames by agents and distibutos themselves. Manufactuing and impoting companies, such as ACI Goup and Squae Goup ae leading the pesticide business. Syngenta, Auto Cop Cae, SAMCO, National Agicae, Reneta, Emacon, BASF, and Mashal ae common name fo collaboation. Facilitato would wok with both pivate and public bodies like lage input companies and manufactues (e.g. KBP, CP), local DAE offices, financial institutions (e.g. Bangladesh Bank, Agani Bank) and local maize tades (as contactos). Facilitato also need wok closely with new fames having bette access to inputs, finance and technical know-how. 5.3 Integated Collaboative endeavou: Technology and Equipment Oiented Actos of elated sevice makets Labou and Components of Finance and Tanspot Insuance Sevices Tille Machine Insuance Laboues Iigation Shelle Dying (Chatals) Mico finance institutions (MFIs) Tanspotation Skills, Capacity and Empowement Oiented Community Based Oganizations (CBOs) Govenment Extension Institutions fo Human Capital Suppot Capacity-building Suppots Infomation Suppot Page 26

8 6. Findings 6.1 Risk management plan Possible changes o uncetainty ae key souces of potential isks to poject implementation. Some of these ae elated diectly to the maize faming business. Poduction uncetainty: Weathe vaiations and biological pests might delay the poject viability. Death losses fom disease and advese weathe conditions ae common in the Noth Bengal aea. Pice fluctuations: Due to advese weathe and othe natual hazads pice may fluctuate. Fom an aggegate level, low levels of maize poduction ae geneally associated with highe maize pices, esulting in a natual hedge; though this may not hold fo the individual fame. Popety losses: Casualty losses can occu fom theft, fie etc and ae geneally coveed by insuance. Financial isk: The isk esults fom the use of finance by stakeholdes as eflected by leveage. Leveage multiplies the potential financial etun o loss that would be geneated with diffeent levels of opeating pefomance of the poject. Institutional uncetainty: Uncetainty associated with cost and availability of debt is eflected patly in inteest ate fluctuations fo loans and patly fom diffeing loan limits, secuity equiements, and matuities, depending on the availability of loan funds ove time. 6.2 Risk Mitigation Plan: Risks Pe-Implementation Phase Delays to the stat-up of poject implementation Delay in consultant ecuitment leading to delays in poject implementation Fluid political situation and potential fo conflict Govenance: public financial management, pocuement, and couption Poo management o impope pactices including lack of tanspaency pocedues, selection, and decision making. Difficult teain not allowing specialist staff to assess feasibility of and suppot implementation of each business plan adequately Poject Implementation Phase Assessment without mitigation Not significant Not significant Low Measues Dono agency of facilitato assues timely implementation of poject Facilitato outlines citeia and pocedues with timeline fo consultant ecuitment pocess Good govenance, decentalized and paticipatoy poject implementation, stong involvement of community-based goups, and existing agibusiness stuctues Anticouption and stong govenance equiements outlined in poject implementation. Adequate suppot fo business planning, capacity building, due diligence assessment, and sceening and implementation of agibusiness plans, contacted intevention goups ae made esponsible to monito pefomance of maize poduction, infomation campaign of pocedues, and annual consultations with stakeholdes. A filte: extemely emote applicants must demonstate they have maket access, so they should be able to tavel to meet business plan sevice povides Assessment with mitigation Not significant Not significant Low Low Low Natual disastes such as landslides and eathquakes, and wosening natual esouces situation esulting fom climate change and exploitation Slow implementation and poo maket connectivity affecting poduct and input pices and agibusiness feasibility Envionmental management plan and measues equied fo all agibusiness and patnes povide advice, taining, and finance fo foest and angeland egeneation, and climateadapted technologies and pocesses Nongovenment outeach and business suppot with contact pefomance incentives Infastuctue suppoted by othe pojects Ago- Entepise Cente contacted to link makets Low Page 27

9 6.2 Evaluation Methods: Consistent with the poject s objective of impoving decision making, the poject would facilitate communication and dissemination of esults to all stakeholdes in ode to enhance knowledge of maize poduction systems. It would also povide synthesized and infomative analysis to ual fames thoughout the inte-pofessional oganizations value chain. The facilitato would be the key esponsible peson fo implementing the poject. At the egional distict level, one dedicated staff fom each egional division would be dedicated fo collecting data, compilation, communication and dissemination of poject esults to the cental levels. The poject would povide technical assistance and capacity building suppot to the population of BoP to cay out this function. Budget allocations unde component would be available to undetake on-demand studies and field suveys elevant to the poject implementation pocess. To collect poduction yield measuements and collect data, the facilitato would delegate esponsibility to the eseach institutes and to agicultual maket obsevatoy at uban level espectively. Relevant public sevices and othe implementing entities would also be actively involved in oveall collection using measuement methodology. The poject would finance two impact evaluations, at the mid-tem and at completion, to assess outcomes and esults on the gound. 6.3 Pesonnel: Boad Membes Diecto Pogam Manage Admin Office Account Office Poject Cocoodinato (Communication with esouces) Poject Cocoodinato (Communication with population of BOP) Poject Cocoodinato (data collection and management) 6.4 Exit Stategy: Exit efes to withdawal fom the opeational aea of extenally povided esouces, whethe mateial goods, human esouces o technical assistance. The timing and manne of completing its tasks depends on a ange of factos. An exit may take vaious foms: (i) moving into a second phase of a poject; (ii) teminating assistance unde a specific poject; o (iii) ending its county pesence. An exit stategy fo a poject descibes how the poject would withdaw fom a egion o population while ensuing that the achievement of development of maize poduction goals is not jeopadized. Exit stategies ae explicitly linked to sustainability. It also consides means of ensuing futhe pogess towads these goals afte the end of othe stakeholde s technical and financial suppot. The goal of an exit stategy is to ensue the sustainability of poject esult impacts and activities, fo which the facilitato of the poject would complement its technical capacity in development pogamming along with appopiate poject exit stategies. Facilitato would ensue that, its assistance contibutes to the development of the community s Page 28

10 esilience, fo which it would define ways to achieve gains duing facilitato s pesence and continue even afte assistance ends. In ode to qualify as a stategy, the exit o gaduation stategy of the poject would fulfil the following citeia: Clea action steps to each benchmaks and identification of those esponsible fo achieve objectives; Measues to peiodically assess pogess towads meeting the exit citeia and possible modification of the plan based on any unfoeseen difficulty in eaching the benchmaks of maize poduction; A timeline (flexible to a degee) specifying when these benchmaks fo maize poduction would be eached and when the assessments would be conducted. Exit stategies might be phase-out, phase-ove o phase-down. The phase-ove is most consistent with pevious stategies in that it seeks to tansfe the full esponsibility fo poject activities to othe oganizations, govenmental entities, community goups o individuals. This type of exit stategy equies significant management and technical capacity-building effots, which must be initiated at the onset of the poject to ensue an effective tansfe and the continuation of wellfunctioning activities. The phase-out exit stategy involves the withdawal of pogam esouces by tansfeing esponsibility to elated goup. 6.5 Sustainability Sustainability of poject inteventions elies on the following elements: (i) if the key stakeholdes fom line ministies and pofessional oganizations as well as epesentatives fom pimay beneficiaies (population of BoP) contibutes to poject design and content, theeby ensuing elevance; (ii) if the implementation is steamed into Govenment stuctues and ual oganizations (including intepofessional oganizations, ual finance entities, etc); (iii) if the subsidiay pinciple guides all field inteventions by empoweing competent decentalized entities to be esponsible fo implementing investmets and managing infastuctue; (iv) if stengthening ual oganizations is integally embedded in the poject to ensue that physical infastuctue and othe investments ae well-managed and maintained afte poject closue; and (v) If pactices ae mainsteamed within inteventions fo maize poductivity incease. 7. Conclusion: Given the colossal size of ual population living at the bottom of the pyamid in Bangladesh, aligning a majo cash cop like maize with BoP stategy has been ationalized thoughout the case study. The study effectively povides synthesized and infomative analysis to ual fames thoughout the value chain of inte-pofessional oganizations. While the poject consides complementing its technical capacity in development pogamming with appopiate poject exit stategies; it also equies sustainability and pope implementation fo ultimate development of community s esilience and gowth. Futhe eseach can be done in the field o elated fields focusing BoP to eliminate the fundamental eason of povety. Refeence: A.B.M. Haque; S. K. Raha, Maize Maketing In Bangladesh-A, Mico Level Study; Bangladesh J. Agic. Econs. XX, 2 (1997): Allan Gibso, Katalyst Bangladesh, A Poject Suppoted by DFID, SDC and Sida and implemented by Swiss contact and GTZ Intenational Sevices. Bhuiya, M. R., & Mohiuddin, H. (2013). Agicultual Regionalization of Bangladesh Based on Poductivity and Analysis of Spatial Dependencies of fo Poductivity Between the Disticts of Bangladesh. Jounal of Bangladesh Institute of Plannes, Page 29

11 Blase, M. (2014). Can the Making Makets Wok fo the Poo (M4P) appoach each the pooest, and ae thee measues to impove its inclusiveness?: A synthesis of the cuent public discouse, expeiences fom pactice, and ways fowad. Zuich: NADEL MAS. Dev, B. K., & Nuuzzaman, M. (2006). Pesent Status of Shimp at the Stage of Poduction and Maketing: A Study in Khulna Distict of Bangladesh. Dhaka: Depatment of Fisheies, Ministy of Fisheies and Livestock. Inclusive Business Hub. (2012). poject pofile: Jita Rual Sales Pogamme, Bangladesh. Retieved August 13, 2015, fom The Pactitione Hub Fo Inclusive Business: Katalyst. (2012). Stenghtening Contact Faming Sytem. Intevention Bief: Maze. Swisscontact. Maize Value Chain in Nothen Cha aea in Bangladesh; GMak Consulting Limited; OXFAM- Bangladesh County Office. Md. Abul quasem (1999); Maize Poduction And Maketing in Bangladesh: An Indicative Execise; Food Management & Reseach Suppot Poject, Ministy of Food, Govenment of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Moniuzzaman, M. S. Rahman, M. K. Kaim and Q. M. Alam; Ago-Economic Analysis Of Maize Poduction In Bangladesh: A Fam Level Study; Bangladesh; J. Agil. Res. 34(1) : 15-24, Mach 2009; ISSN Sawa, R. (2012, July 19). ubaiyathsawa. Retieved August 13, 2015, fom Blog Site: how-can-m4p-seve-the-pooest-of-the-poo MD. ABUL QUASEM (1999); FMRSP Woking Pape No. 14, FMRSP Bangladeshm, Food Management & Reseach Suppot Poject, Ministy offood, Govenment of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, Intenational Food Policy Reseach Institute Page 30