How organic is the organic food sold in Bangladesh?

Nazim Ahmed, a teacher at a non-government school in Dhaka, has been eating “organic” food for five years.

He believes that this healthy eating habit has greatly benefited him and his family.

He previously suffered from allergies, which have improved over the last few years, and his father, who is now in his 70s, had gastrointestinal problems which have also improved significantly.

He also hopes that his children, who have limited time for physical activity due to educational pressures, will be less likely to become obese because of their diet.

“In short, organic food has been a blessing for me and my entire family,” Nazim said in a recent conversation with The Business Standard.

For those unfamiliar with the concept of organic food, it is grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, or genetically modified organisms.

This approach reduces air, soil and water pollution and aims to optimize the health and productivity of interconnected communities of plants, animals and people.

“Organic food production in Bangladesh is not entirely feasible for many reasons, the main challenge being the limited availability of land compared to the high population density. Even if organic farming is attempted on one plot, neighboring areas may use synthetic fertilizers, which may be transferred to organic fields by flooding or rainwater runoff.”

Dr Md Abdul Alim, Professor of Food Technology and Rural Industries at Bangladesh Agricultural University

Although the demand for such foods is increasing in Bangladeshi cities, there seem to be some common characteristics among lovers of these foods.

“Organic food consumers in Bangladesh are mainly middle- and upper-income, well-educated and health-conscious people who prioritize the safety and health benefits of organic products,” said Dr. Md. Parves Sultan, professor, discipline head and program director of the school business at the Melbourne Institute of Technology.

To meet the needs of this niche consumer segment, there has been an increase in channels such as retail outlets, farmers markets, specific sections of supermarkets, and e-commerce and social commerce platforms that purport to sell organic food.

These products are often priced three to four times higher than their non-organic counterparts.

However, a question that often goes unasked is how organic the food labeled “organic” in Bangladesh really is.

When we investigated this issue further, it became clear that there is no way to trace genuine products in Bangladesh because almost all organic food producers are not accredited.

It is also impossible to produce “decent” organic food in the country; foods labeled organic can at best be called “relatively safer.”

The National Organic Agriculture Policy 2016 sets the strategic direction and priorities for organic agriculture in Bangladesh.

However, according to Dr. Shaikh Tanveer Hossain, Director of Policy and Strategy at IFOAM – Organics Asia, the policy is yet to be properly implemented in the country.

Therefore, despite the need for third-party certification to verify that farms and businesses comply with national organic standards and use the term “organic” on their labels, this practice is not common in Bangladesh.

“People in this country most often buy organic food without being sure about its authenticity,” said Dr. Hossain.

When it comes to organic food, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic label is considered the most reliable, indicating that a given food or agricultural product was produced in accordance with USDA organic standards.

So far, only Organic Nutrition Limited and Kazi & Kazi Tea Estate Ltd are two Bangladeshi companies that have organic certification for their selected products.

Arun Kumar Mandal, executive director of science and nutrition at Organic Nutrition Limited, said organic food certification typically involves a rigorous process that can take up to three years to complete.

During the three-year organic certification process, farms and businesses go through a transition period during which they gradually adopt organic practices such as eliminating synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, implementing crop rotation and improving soil health.

Throughout this time, they must demonstrate their commitment to organic standards through inspections, documentation and audits by certification bodies.

Once the transition period has ended and all requirements have been met, a farm or business can obtain an official organic certification, ensuring the integrity of organic food production and giving consumers confidence in the authenticity of organic products.

We also contacted several other online companies, including Khaas Food, Green Organic Food and Halal Organic Shop, that sell so-called organic foods and have a large Facebook follower base to find out about the authenticity of their food. None of them responded to our inquiries.

Organic food production in Bangladesh is not entirely feasible for many reasons, the main challenge being the limited availability of land compared to the high population density, says Dr. Md. Abdul Alim, professor of food technology and rural industries at Bangladesh Agricultural University.

Even if one plot is organically grown, synthetic fertilizers may be used in adjacent areas and may be transferred to organic fields by flooding or rainwater runoff.

Land previously treated with synthetic chemicals also requires a transition period of several years before it can obtain organic certification, which is not possible for most landowners or farmers in our country.

“Therefore, I believe it is a form of fraud on consumers when companies try to sell food products at very high prices, claiming that they are organic,” Dr. Alim said.

Farida Akhter, executive director of UBINIG, which runs Shashya Prabartana, sells over a hundred food items such as local varieties of rice, flour, wheat, lentils, edible oil, beans, peas, dairy products, pickles, honey, nuts, sugar, molasses, spices, meat, poultry and fish, said “organic farming” is a broad term. Instead, he prefers to call it “biodiversity-based agriculture.”

According to her, there are indeed many challenges in ensuring organic farming in Bangladesh. However, there are some key issues to pay attention to: prioritizing farmers’ needs, using native seeds, following appropriate seasonal practices, and ensuring food does not contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

She also praised the recent efforts to promote organic food as she believes that even if the food is not 100% organic, it at least spreads awareness among people and helps them develop healthy eating habits.

However, she opposes government-led standardization of organic farming, expressing distrust of the country’s bureaucracy. He fears that such standardization could also pave the way for the corporatization of organic farming.

Delowar Jahan, the pioneer of Prakritik Krishi, also prefers the term “natural farming” over “organic farming”. He and his peers have spent the past two decades trying to implement ancient agricultural practices that rely on centuries of knowledge and do not require the use of toxic chemicals to achieve high yields.

But apparently the terminology used doesn’t make much of a difference.

Dr. Nazim Uddin, senior scientist at the Horticultural Research Center of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), stated that due to the unfavorable perception of organic farming, both government and private enterprises in the country are initiating various programs under alternative names that will ultimately promote organic farming.

According to Nazim, who is also the coordinator of the Bangladesh Organic Agriculture Network, around 7,500 farmers in the country are currently engaged in organic farming.

“In addition, many entrepreneurs involved in the production of biomaterials have also appeared in the country. For example, there are currently about 5,000 producers of vermicompost and 300 producers of organic fertilizers with high nutrient content and rich in microorganisms in the country,” he said.

Meanwhile, Md Iqbal Hossain, senior nutritionist at Chattogram Diabetic General Hospital, stressed that while many companies are now including the term “organic” in their marketing strategies, continuous consumption of organic food is not necessary as it can negatively impact the immune system .

“Every human body functions through its own unique mechanism, and most people can tolerate some level of pollutants. In fact, exposure to minimal amounts of unclean food may even help strengthen their immune system,” he said.

Hossain further explained that people who consume only 100% pure foods from childhood may not develop a robust immune system. As a result, exposure to any form of dietary variation later in life can significantly impact their health.

He concluded by saying that food adulteration is a serious problem in Bangladesh and strict action should be taken against all those involved in this problem.