Govt focusing on exporting agricultural produce: PM

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that her government is now emphasizing exporting agricultural products.

The premier had remarked on Monday while replying to a question about her recent speech on food security and smart farming at the 76th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

"We are assessing how to pick up the crop from the land and put it in the cargo. We need to form a cargo village with separate chambers in it. The cargo village will have a particular system to determine the suitable temperature for crop varieties," Sheikh Hasina said.

Mentioning that there is a finding of international research on agricultural technology, she said, "I noticed such a system during my visit to the Netherlands. That's why I have decided to implement it here.

"We will establish 100 economic zones where we will focus on crop processing for a good harvest. If we can sell processed crops, we can earn foreign currency."

The prime minister said that she has directed Biman for making arrangements of air cargo for transporting crops abroad directly from the fields after maintaining proper packaging.

"Now we don't need to wait for the winter to have winter vegetables. These vegetables are available all year round. We are moving forward by doing research," she added.

Emphasising the need for protecting local fish from extinction, Hasina said, "We are researching it. Now people are getting all kinds of fish. We are enough aware of this."