In the northern town of Kushtia, small factories are quietly powering supply chains that reach far beyond their surroundings. At Shiladoho Dairy, yoghurt produced in a modest facility finds its way onto the shelves of Dhaka's supermarkets. Just a few streets away, Vegan Agro processes mango pulp supplied to large companies such as PRAN and other FMCG brands, eventually reaching consumers across the country. In Feni, Starline produces everyday consumer goods that circulate through local markets and nearby districts.
These businesses are not large exporters—yet. But they already operate inside national value chains where quality, safety, and consistency are non-negotiable. Their stories reflect a broader truth about Bangladesh's agro-processing sector: small and medium enterprises may operate on a modest scale, but their economic reach is far wider than their size suggests.
Agro-processing plays a critical role in the national economy. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, the sector contributes around 11–12 percent of GDP and provides employment to millions of people across farming, processing, transport, and trade, particularly in rural and peri-urban areas. Yet the SMEs that form its backbone often struggle to keep pace as market expectations continue to rise.
For businesses like these, growth ambitions are real. Many aim to formalise, expand, and eventually explore export markets. But as soon as they move beyond local buyers, new pressures emerge. Food safety, hygiene, traceability, and quality standards are tightening—even within domestic supply chains linked to large FMCG companies. Small factories, typically operating with lean teams and multi-tasking workers, face persistent gaps: limited practical training, weak internal systems, and production practices driven more by habit than by standards. The result is inconsistent quality, higher operational risk, and low confidence in engaging with audits or new buyers.
Skills at the Centre: How Small Agro-Processors Are Building Big Ambitions in Bangladesh
The constraint is not motivation. It is the absence of factory-level skills and systems that translate standards into daily practice.To address this gap, Swisscontact works closely with agro-processing SMEs to embed skills development directly into factory operations, including through its BYETS project, focusing on practical, on-the-job improvements rather than stand-alone training. The emphasis is on simple but critical habits—cleaning routines, hygiene discipline, safe handling, and basic quality checks—that workers can apply immediately. These day-to-day practices are gradually linked to more formal systems such as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP, the core "good habits" of production), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP, a preventive approach to food safety), and Total Quality Management (TQM, continuous improvement across the business). Together, they help factories turn global food safety and quality standards into clear, workable actions on the shop floor. In larger or more complex operations, supervisors are supported to guide teams, reinforce standards, and institutionalise good practices across production lines. At the same time, selected staff are developed as in-house master trainers, creating a sustainable training system that allows knowledge to be retained, transferred, and scaled internally—reducing long-term dependence on external support and strengthening readiness for buyer audits and certifications recognised in export markets.
Inside factories in Kushtia and Feni, progress is visible in small but meaningful ways. Workers are clearer about expectations. Processes are more consistent. Hygiene and quality are no longer abstract concepts but routine practices that show up in cleaner workspaces, safer handling, and fewer mistakes.
For business owners, this shift brings confidence. Regulatory requirements are easier to interpret. Engagement with large buyers feels less risky. Production becomes more predictable, losses begin to fall, and planning for new markets becomes possible. Swisscontact's work helps SMEs become export‑ready and global market‑facing. By strengthening workforce skills and internal systems at the SME level, the gap between regulatory expectations and factory capacity begins to close. Productivity improves, risk declines, and small businesses gain a stronger footing in national and future export markets.
In towns like Kushtia and Feni, far from export fairs and policy tables, this work unfolds quietly. Skills are becoming the bridge between local production and wider markets—and in that process, small agro-processors are building competitiveness from the ground up.
The BYETS project is funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by Swisscontact.
