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Mr Imanun Nabi Khan is an institutional expert with more than 20 years of experience in coordinating and leading projects associated with community development, digital agriculture, value chain promotion, rural finance and banking. He leads FAO’s support to the Missing Middle Initiative (MMI) and Producer Organization (PO)-led funding window of the GAFSP in Bangladesh (2018-2023). The MMI-Bangladesh is a successful pilot of digital and financial inclusion for smallholder farmers through mobilizing strong producers’ organizations. He and team designed and piloted curriculum for future-generation farmer business school (FBS) embracing institutional, digital, business, financial and market literacy modules. He has backstopped a group of small, marginal and landless farmers, fishers, pastoralists, men and women farmers of climatic hotspots to establish Sara Bangla Krishak Society (SBKS) - a national apex PO. Over last four years, he has been leading FAO team to facilitate SBKS for launching business and financial start-ups powered by the RuralInvest toolkit and MBWin software of FAO. The Ministry of Agriculture of Bangladesh appreciated the MMI pilot and recommended extension agencies to mainstream FBS curriculum and MMI approach of mobilizing strong POs across the country.   

During the lockdown days of COVID-19 pandemic, he has strongly motivated the POs to establish 55 virtual call centers (VCCs) in economic and climatic fragile areas of Bangladesh with an aim to support more than 25000 smallholder farmers for selling their produces and buying inputs collectively through POs. These VCCs are now turned into digital village service center (DVSC) in response to the global call of FAO Director General for the establishment of 1000 digital villages. The DVSC has been providing services to the villagers and assisted farmers on information on education, health, social safety-net programs, procuring inputs and selling products in groups to secure better prices, mobile apps for crop and livestock disease detection cum prevention, assistance with cropping decisions, and getting online guidance on recommended fertilizers.   

Prior to MMI, Mr Khan served as an Investment Officer of FAO Investment Center over 2017-2018, Institution Development Expert over 2012 to 2016, Agribusiness Promotion Specialist of ADB  over 2008-2012 and Agribusiness Expert for the SouthAsia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF) over 2003 – 2008. He is a Master Trainer of RuralInvest – a software for bankable business proposal and .collect – a software for M&E. Besides, Mr Khan has a long list of publications and consultancy assignments executed by him for international organizations. He has graduated in Agricultural Engineering from the Bangladesh Agricultural University and obtained Masters, Ph.D and an MBA.