Dr Aynal Haque, BSS, Rajshahi
The prospect of agro-processing industries in the northwestern region of the country is bright as the region produces adequate crops including food-grains, fruits and vegetables.
Business leaders, bankers, agronomists and researchers told BSS that the region has enormous potentials for making agro- processing enterprises sustainable and profitable as it has been producing varieties of fruits and vegetables side by side with contributing to the national economy with its huge agri-products.
They focused on the agricultural potentials of the region with special emphasis on value added agro-processing opportunities and agro-based industries. They said it could add to the industrialization efforts of agro-based and agro- processing industry in the region for a sustainable and well formed linkage of production, processing and marketing.
Director of Rajshahi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (RCCI) Kabirur Rahman Khan said the region, a food surplus area, produced adequate amount of crops particularly rice, maize, wheat and soybean, fruits especially mango, banana, papaya and tomato and vegetables over the last couple of years due to suitable soil condition, topography and climate.
Vegetables like potato, cauliflower, tomato, white gourd, bean, spinach, puin, pea and baby corn are being produced in the region in larger amount side by side with broccoli, carrot, celery, capsicum, and strawberry. Khan said the Bangabandhu Multipurpose Jamuna Bridge contributed a lot in improving communication in the northern region, creating wider scopes for increased production of cereals, fruits, vegetables and livestock over the years.
“This has in fact opened up many opportunities for agro- business in the region,” he said stressing the need for uninterrupted power supply and availability of natural gas to help set up agro-based small, medium and big industries in northern districts.
The RCCI leader urged the government to upgrade the Rajshahi Airport, making it an outlet for directly exporting the processed agri- Products, fresh vegetables and fruits to different Middle Eastern and European countries. He underscored the need for setting up agro-processing industries to ensure maximum utilization of agricultural products. He said establishment of agro- processing industries would encourage the farmers to grow valuable products for their higher income.
Terming the industrialization as the most relevant indicator of the country’s progress and prosperity, he said the agro-based industries constitute about 50 percent of the country’s total industries, employing 60 percent of the total labor forces in the industrial sector.
He said the region has now been fulfilling 52 percent of the country’s total food demand along with supplying 76 percent raw- materials of the country’s agro- based industries. “Unfortunately, big industrial units have not yet been established here,” he said.
RCCI President Hasen Ali revealed that seven advantages that is pertinent to this region for an agro-based EPZ. These are: sufficient supplies of good quality and cheap raw materials and cereals, vegetables, fruits, meat and milk in particular, cheap land and labour, good communication, suitable climate, better law and order situation and capable entrepreneurs.
He said potato flakes have great international demand and its production technology is relatively simple and labour intensive. Hasen Ali also said Rajshahi region alone produce 49 percent of the country’s total mango production and there is an ample opportunity for establishment of mango-based industries here.
Talking to BSS, Managing Director of Rajshahi Krishi Unnayan Bank (RAKUB) Fazlul Hoque said Rajshahi division, known as the granary of Bangladesh, alone produces nearly one-third of total rice of the country. He said there exists ample opportunity to extract edible oil from rice bran in the region by setting up a large number of medium sized rice-bran oil processing mills.
Some northern districts like Rajshahi, Naogaon, Chapainawabgonj, Natore and Dinajpur produce good quality aromatic rice. There exists a tremendous scope to export aromatic rice. He, however, said there is a need of collaborative approach involving producers, millers, exporters and financial institutions. He said maize production can be doubled and quadrupled within a short period time in the region with a little effort through establishing backward and forward linkage among maize growers, buyers and entrepreneurs. Required number of feed mills can be established for meeting demand of feed mills in the wake of flourishing poultry industries in the country.
Additional Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Abdul Basher described ‘value addition to agricultural products and agro-processing’ as very much consistent with the government policy since due emphasis are being given on agro- processing at present.
In this context, he said RAKUB in collaboration with DAE has been implementing the seven-year ‘Northwest Crop Diversification Project (NCDP)’ to raise production, processing and marketing of high-value agricultural products especially cereals, fruits and vegetables.
The project has been playing a vital role in enhancing productivity of 30 types of high-value cereals, fruits and vegetables in the region. Basher, however, said though prospects of producing adequate fruits and vegetables, the region has some problems in utilizing the potentials.
Since there is no storing and processing facility in the region, highly perishable fruits and vegetables are being damaged in huge quantity every year. “Had there been hygienic storing and processing units, the damage could be halted,” Bashar said.
Courtesy: thebangladeshtoday.com
