EMK-YPF holds seminar on innovation in food distribution via social media

EMK Center, in association with Youth Policy Forum, has recently organised a webinar on the innovation in food distribution with the help of social media platforms brought out mostly by the young generation vendors amid the pandemic which led to protracted lockdowns. 

The webinar marked the end of the three-day International Youth Day 2021 campaign where the discussion revolved around the transformation of food systems during Covid-19 and the youth-led innovations in Bangladesh, said a press release.

This year the theme for International Youth Day was "Transforming Food Systems- Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health."

The aim of the programme was to understand the issues with the food distribution systems in Bangladesh, highlight the impact of youth-led innovations to transform the food system, and comprehend the possible changes in policy and implementation required for such transformation, through the discussion which was broadcast live on Facebook.

Innovision Consulting's Chairman and CEO Sadruddin Imran, PROKAS's Manager of IBP Food Safety AHM Taslima Akhter and BIGD's Programme Manager Zeeshan Abedin, joined the virtual discussion which was moderated by Nahian Bin Khaled, an Applied Economics graduate student at Michigan State University.

The discussion was preceded by a youth consultation on 11 August where some 30 youth from different districts of Bangladesh joined and shared their opinion on food systems in their area during the Covid-19 pandemic. The findings of that consultation were presented by Mahin Abrar Rahman of YPF at the virtual event.

AHM Taslima Akhter claimed a project 'Improving food safety in Bangladesh,' piloted in 2009 with Food and Agricultural Organization, had initiated a set of food safety initiatives and helped to develop The Food Safety Act, 2013 in Bangladesh. 

"People in charge of food relief sometimes found it difficult to cope with the situation due to the magnitude of the pandemic," claimed AHM Taslima Akhter, Manager of IBP Food Safety of PROKAS.

Innovision Consulting's Chairman and CEO Sadruddin Imran said, "During the lockdown, the supply chain management of food was not severely affected. Indeed, there was a surge in the e-commerce business, especially in food distribution thanks to the support of the government." 

"However, e-commerce is yet to spread in rural areas because of the lack of proper infrastructure which needs to be improved," he added.

He claimed that he had firsthand experience with some vendors, mostly youth, who utilized platforms like Facebook to conduct their business. Discussants agreed that they have observed these innovations and entrepreneurial behaviour among many organizations and individuals.

According to Zeeshan Abedin from BIGD, nutritious food is considered a luxury in rural areas of Bangladesh and as a result, building awareness and behavioural change on nutritious food have been a complicated issue.

Discussants agreed that the dissemination of knowledge on nutritious food and a healthy diet can be driven by the innovation and participation of youth.

The Business Standard was the media partner of the International Youth Day 2021 campaign.