Export of high quality agricultural goods is the way forward: Minister

In order to expand the export market, Bangladesh needs to increase the output of quality agricultural products by developing the processing industry, said Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque.

"I request big companies like Pran, Square, and ACI not to get stuck in the export of products like chanachur, muri and chira. In order to capture the international market, we must produce high quality products," said the minister at a virtual seminar titled "Bangabandhu's Agricultural Thoughts: Challenges and Prospects for the Future," organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industries (FBCCI) on Thursday.

Razzaque, the chief guest at the event, said there were many countries that did not have agricultural products but were big exporters of processed goods. "We are not able to make advanced products despite having a sufficient yield of fruits like pineapple and mango. Now is the time to focus on processing high quality agricultural products."

The per capita annual income of $2,200 is only applicable to people in some areas, such as Gulshan, Banani, Khulna, and Chattogram. If people's income does not increase, the demand for products will not increase. "We already have to discard milk, vegetables, fish, tomatoes, potatoes, and other products that are overproduced," The agriculture minister continued.

"In order to increase everyone's income, we have to increase the number of industries. The government is giving more importance to the processing industry of agricultural products and we are working on giving loans at nominal interest rates for factories in this sector," he said.

Former governor of Bangladesh Bank Dr Atiur Rahman presented the keynote address at the event.

He said, "Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was sensitive to the interests of the peasants from the very beginning of his political life. In the election manifesto of 1970, he made agriculture-friendly proposals. On the day he returned to the country in 1972, he said, 'If the people do not get food, if the youth do not get jobs, then independence will fail and will not be fulfilled.'"

Dr Atiur said, "Bangabandhu at that time had undertaken various plans to involve a large part of the labour force of the independent country in agriculture, to create a demand for agricultural raw materials and industrial products, and to provide food to the people of the country."

After independence, the production of food grains was less than 1 crore tonnes, which today has almost quadrupled to over 4 crore tons. Bangladesh is the tenth largest producer of crops in the world, and it is third in rice and fish production, and seventh in mango production. The use of modern agricultural machinery, the export of processed products, and agricultural research, have gained momentum. "This has happened with the implementation of Bangabandhu's agricultural ideas," Atiur said.

Speaking as a special guest on the occasion, State Minister for Planning Dr Shamsul Alam said, "Vietnam is a country much smaller than us but it is earning $100 billion annually by exporting agricultural products. They export tomatoes worth over $1 billion."

"So if we want to go further, we have to cultivate using greenhouses, do tissue culture, build large farms, and commercialise agriculture. Therefore, the Ministry of Planning is ready to provide any kind of assistance," he said.

Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman and CEO of Pran RFL, said there should be a consistency between the words and deeds of banks regarding giving loans to entrepreneurs in this sector. The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority and the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution should also play a role in the development of the processing industry, he said.