Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid has said the country will move away from importing farm produce. He was speaking at a meeting with farmers and officials while visiting mango and lychee orchards, modern ginger farming, summer green chilli and tomato growing areas, and the irrigation projects of the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) in Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj districts in the Rajshahi region today.
The minister said the government is working to make sure farmers get a fair price for what they grow and to turn agriculture from an import-dependent sector into an export-oriented one. The output of farm products that are now imported will be increased, he said, so that imports can be phased out step by step.
He said farmers in the Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj region are very hardworking and committed to farming. Alongside mangoes, the region has made notable progress in rice and vegetable growing. To make more of its potential, steps will be taken to expand ginger farming on the unused land between trees in mango orchards.
He said the country has to import about one and a half lakh (150,000) tonnes of ginger every year. Growing more ginger in the gaps in mango orchards would cut dependence on imports and give farmers extra income. He told agriculture officials to test the soil’s suitability and take the necessary steps.
The minister said the use of river water for irrigation will be expanded to ease pressure on groundwater, and that a large project for this has already reached him. He said the project has been sent on for the next stage of approval.
Work is also under way on setting up cold storage for mangoes in the Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj region, the minister said. Extending how long mangoes keep would stop prices collapsing in the season, and farmers would get a fair price for their mangoes.
Noting progress towards self-sufficiency in onions, the minister said the government is also giving special priority to raising the output of ginger, garlic and monsoon tomatoes. Steps will be taken from next season to expand monsoon tomato farming. The government’s goal, he said, is to make Bangladesh an exporter of farm products instead of an importer.
During the visit, the minister opened the Aman rice harvest at Hosendanga in Jhilim union of Sadar upazila in Chapainawabganj district.
Senior officials of the local administration and the departments concerned, BMDA representatives and farmers were present.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report