The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) inaugurated an agro service desk on Sunday with a view to developing the agriculture sector.
The 'DCCI Agro Service Desk' set up at the trade body office will assist the stakeholders and entrepreneurs in this sector in ensuring safe and quality agriculture products.
Senior vice-president of DCCI Kamrul Islam inaugurated the desk established with the support from the USAID's Agriculture Value Chain (AVC) Project.
Kamrul Islam said the Global GAP (Good Agriculture Practice) is an internationally recognised standard practised by farmers or producers.
Exporters of agricultural products need to maintain the GAP and other standards strictly to enter the world markets, especially the EU and the US, he added.
DCCI is the local partner of Global GAP.
The country witnesses 12 per cent of post-harvest losses in paddy and 20 per cent in vegetables and fruits annually because of lack of processing, storage and packaging facilities, according to the DCCI.
Bangladesh has set a target to earn US$ 1.0 billion through agro-food exports by 2021, Kamrul Islam said.
Presently, the contribution of agriculture sector to GDP (gross domestic product) is 14.75 per cent, he said.
The sector employs around 24.5 million people or 40.6 per cent of the total population, he added.
Kamrul Islam said that by following the GAP practice, the country could ensure safe and quality food chain, capture new market advantages, improve workers' health and create new market opportunities for farmers/exporters.
A recent study of the Institute of Public Health and Nutrition, Bangladesh, suggests that 43 consumer goods selected as the sample was adulterated.
The average adulteration rate was 40 per cent while 100 per cent adulteration was found in 13 consumer goods, it said.
The 'DCCI Agro Service Desk' will assist agri-producers in getting Global GAP licence and certificate, diversifying agro-products and exploring export markets.
Bangladesh earned US$ 553 million from agro-food exports in the fiscal year 2016-17, accounting for only 1.59 per cent of total exports.
Chief of Party, AVC Project, Paul Bundick, vice-president of DCCI Riyadh Hossain, DCCI directors Imran Ahmed and KMN Manjurul Hoque and its secretary general AHM Rezaul Kabir and representative of Global GAP Lisa Heinemann were present at the inaugural ceremony.
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