Shwapno, a retail chain owned by ACI Logistics, yesterday launched a new brand—Shuddho—as part of efforts to sell safe vegetables and crops in the country.

The products will come from 200 farmers of the country's southern belt who were earlier trained by Shwapno on the best practices of medicine/chemical application on plants and harvesting.

Sabbir Hasan Nasir, executive director of ACI Logistics, launched the brand at a programme at The Daily Star Centre in the capital where 20 of the trained farmers were present.

The training initiative will serve as a bridge between the farmers and the consumers, Nasir said.

The initiative will not only financially benefit the farmers, but also ensure quality foods for the customers, he said.

“Shwapno taught us about the best practices of vegetable farming,” Saiful Islam Malek, a farmer who was trained under the initiative, told The Daily Star.

“It also informed us about the pre harvest interval or PHI which means how long we have to wait for harvesting after applying pesticides on vegetables.”

Through the training, the farmers were made aware of the effects of medicine overuse and how to grow chemical-free vegetables, said Salah Uddin, assistant manager for protein and perishable category at ACI Logistics.

The trained farmers were also presented with different gifts at the launch ceremony.