Swapan Kumar Singh:

Sylhet, 10 February 2025 – The "Strengthening Collaboration and Sustainable Partnerships with Private Sector in the Nutrition Market System" workshop was successfully held at Hotel Grand Sylhet, bringing together Nutrition Sales Agents (NSAs) and key private sector representatives. The event, organized under the Uddokta Project, led by iDE Bangladesh and funded by Latter Day Saints Charities (LDSC), aims to improve the nutritional statuofs of children under five. The event aimed to enhance business linkages, improve service delivery, and foster long-term partnerships between NSAs and private sector actors.
The workshop featured an interactive panel discussion where representatives from Lal Teer Seed Ltd., Care Nutrition Ltd. (CNL), Supreme Seed, RFL, and SMC addressed critical market challenges, including product availability, quality assurance, pricing, supply chain efficiency, and sustainable business growth. During the discussion, Lal Teer Seed Ltd. pledged direct support for NSAs by ensuring better access to vegetable seeds and exploring dealership opportunities. Care Nutrition Ltd. (CNL) committed to improving stock availability while also conducting training sessions for NSAs on fortified food products to enhance their knowledge and sales capacity. Similarly, Supreme Seed emphasized their dedication to quality enhancement by offering promotional support and special discounts for bulk orders, ensuring NSAs have competitive advantages in the market. RFL assured continued support for latrine producers and NSAs by expanding access to high-quality sanitation and hygiene products, fostering better public health outcomes. Additionally, SMC announced plans to strengthen their distribution networks in rural areas and expand promotional activities related to menstrual hygiene products, ensuring increased accessibility for underserved communities.
The workshop provided a vital platform for NSAs to discuss real-time challenges and collaborate with private sector actors to develop market-driven solutions. The product display booths allowed participants to explore various products and services, further strengthening market linkages.
All stakeholders expressed strong commitment to fostering long-term partnerships, improving supply chain mechanisms, and ensuring product availability to support NSA-led market expansion. The event concluded on a positive note, with participants acknowledging the importance of continuous collaboration in driving sustainable business growth in the nutrition sector. With NSAs and private sector companies working together to enhance distribution networks and service outreach, the workshop marked a significant step in advancing the objectives of the Uddokta Project and strengthening rural market systems.
The event began with opening remarks by Md. Hannan Ali, Project Manager, who provided an overview of the workshop's objectives and structure. Following this, Ratan Kumar Ray, Field Team Leader (FTL), discussed the operational model of Nutrition Sales Agents (NSAs), their target areas, and the annual business prospects for private sector companies. Representatives from SMC, CNL, Lal Teer, Supreme, and RFL then shared insights about their companies and the products sold through NSAs, each giving a brief presentation. The panel discussion, facilitated by Abdullah Al Ahad, Senior Technical Specialist, addressed key issues such as product availability, quality assurance, and supply chain challenges. Topics included Care Nutrition Ltd.'s local product delivery and Point of Contact (POC) determination, SMC's final-stage delivery, pricing advantages, and seasonal offers, Lal Teer Seed Ltd.'s mini packs for homestead gardens, availability of high-yielding local varieties, and delivery systems, Supreme Seeds' seed packages for homestead gardens and field crops, and RFL's promotion of I-Trap, V-Trap, and SaTo pans at the local level.
The panel encouraged a direct exchange between private sector representatives and NSAs, focusing on challenges in supply chain, product quality, pricing, and competition. A group activity allowed participants to work together on identifying solutions and setting commitments from both private sector representatives and NSAs. Laki and Shamima, NSA representatives, along with field representatives, shared their feedback on the outcomes and challenges. The event concluded with Md. Hannan Ali thanked all participants and acknowledged their contributions to the success of the session.