Case Study — Infolady Agricultural Entrepreneurship

Case Study — Infolady Agricultural Entrepreneurship: Business Scope Identification (Monirampur Upazila, Jessore)

Executive Summary

Dnet's Infolady model was assessed to identify a commercially viable service/product portfolio rural women entrepreneurs could deliver across three unions of Monirampur (Khanpur, Shamkur, Khedapara). The work combined a structured workshop (31 March 2014) and a week-long field study (10–16 April 2014) to validate demand, test willingness to pay, and map supply chains. Core, high-velocity items emerged (seeds, fertilizer, organic pesticide, fish feed/medicine, livestock vaccines, LCC-based advisory), with clear "free-to-paid" customer education hooks (e.g., water-testing, crop software).

Context & Objectives

  • Program: Infolady Agricultural Entrepreneurship — Service and Business Scope Identification (prepared by Dnet).
  • Where: Three unions under Monirampur Upazila, Jessore — Khanpur, Shamkur, Khedapara.
  • Why: Identify agriculture-aligned products/services Infoladies can monetize; analyze needs through the 4As (availability, accessibility, acceptability, affordability); and sketch supply chains and USP/pricing/competition matrices.
Three unions from Manirampur Upazila map: Khedapara, Shyamkur, Khanpur
Figure 1: Three Unions from Manirampur Upazila

Methodology

  1. Design workshop — 31 Mar 2014 (Jessore). Mapped full agriculture cycle, shortlisted feasible items via criteria-driven triage.
  2. Field study — 10–16 Apr 2014. Daily plan covered ocular surveys, FGDs, and IDIs with agriculture, fisheries, livestock, and health officials.
  3. Participants & tools. 9 FGDs (household, horticulture, fisheries, crop groups) and 5 IDIs; plus structured ocular surveys and secondary-data review.
Three-stage process of workshop: list services, feasible services, develop backward and forward linkage
Figure 2: Three-stage Process of Workshop
The four areas of Agriculture: Crop, Fisheries, Horticulture, Livestock
Figure 3: The Four Areas of Agriculture
Workshop in Jessore with IRRI
Workshop in Jessore

Union Snapshot (Demand Context)

  • Khanpur: Pop. 28,290; annual crop demand 4,750 MT; production 12,426 MT.
  • Shamkur: Pop. 35,166; demand 5,240 MT; production 15,062 MT.
  • Khedapara: Pop. 24,426; demand 4,112 MT; production 14,001 MT.

Enablers/Risks: Electricity coverage ~80–90% (pro-adoption), but women's willingness to pay rated "little" in baseline—pricing and onboarding must be engineered carefully.

What Tested Positive — High-Demand Portfolio (with service hooks)

GoodsService HookNotes
Seeds Sales + seasonal crop calendar advisory Entry SKU with repeat purchase.
Fertilizer Software-guided dose recommendations (e.g., IRRI/FRS) Start free to build trust; correct dosing beats "copy-the-neighbor" habit.
Organic pesticide Same advisory flow Begin free; upsell later.
Fish feed & medicine Water testing (free initially) License required; fee BDT 500 (renewal 300). Position water-testing as conversion engine.
Livestock vaccination products On-site vaccination Service is paid; bundle with follow-ups.
LCC (nitrogen mgmt.) LCC-based advisory (free) Education reduces over-urea use and input cost; eco-benefit narrative.
Donut chart showing share of identified products, services and technologies
Figure 4: Share of Identified Products, Services and Technologies
Observation: The "free diagnostic → paid input" flywheel (water testing; LCC; crop-dose software) is the most capital-efficient growth loop for Infoladies in these unions. This aligns perfectly with the program's info-plus-service DNA.

Go-to-Market (GTM) Plan — 90 Days

Positioning: "Trusted Neighbor Agripreneur" delivering science-backed advice + last-mile inputs.
Motifs: micro-demos, free diagnostics, small-pack SKUs, repeat routes.

  1. Route-to-Market & Cadence
    • Fix weekly village circuits and synchronize with haat days; log visits and leads.
    • Run FGD-style micro-clinics: 15–20 farmers; demo LCC and "right-dose" calculators; book doorstep deliveries.
  2. Pricing & Offers
    • Zero-price on diagnostics (water test, dose calc, LCC check) for first 60–90 days; monetize via input margin (seeds, fertilizer, feed, vaccines).
    • For fisheries, bundle license-compliant feed sales with quarterly water-quality tune-ups.
  3. Assortment & Compliance
    • Stock the six proven categories above; maintain license ledger for fish inputs.
  4. Partnerships
    • Tie up with local ag offices and extension workers tapped during IDIs for referral credibility and co-events.

Risks & Mitigations

  • Low initial willingness to pay (especially among women). De-risk via free diagnostics, samples, and ROI storytelling (before/after yields, saved inputs).
  • Regulatory/License drift (fish feed/meds). Centralize license renewals (BDT 300) and display certificates during visits.
  • Adoption friction. Leverage strong electricity coverage and community acceptance of Infolady mobility to scale demos and charge devices.

Measurement & Targets (first 6 months)

  • Activity: 12–16 demos/month/Infolady; 150–250 farmer touchpoints.
  • Conversion: ≥35% of demo attendees purchase at least one SKU within 14 days.
  • Repeat: ≥50% of fertilizer or feed buyers re-purchase within 60–90 days.
  • Compliance: 100% license currency for fisheries inputs.

Why This Works

The fieldwork unequivocally supports inputs-with-advisory as the revenue engine, with software/LCC/water-testing as trust accelerants—the precise wedge this market accepts and understands. It's capital-light, license-aware, and matches local production realities across the three unions.

Analytical framework used for data analysis flow diagram
Figure 5: Analytical framework used for data analysis

Notes on Provenance

This case study is synthesized directly from Infolady Agricultural Entrepreneurship — Service and Business Scope Identification (Dnet), including workshop/field methodology, union facts, and the analyzed high-demand portfolio.