Agribusiness fair opens in Rajshahi
Monday, 6 December 2010
Our Correspondent
RAJSHAHI, Dec 5: A three-day long Agribusiness Fair-2010 organised by Bangladesh Agribusiness Development Project(BADP) under Agriculture Marketing Department was inaugurated at the Green Plaza of Rajshahi City Corporation(RCC) Saturday afternoon.
Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation AHM Khairuzzaman Liton inaugurated the fair as the chief guest.
After the inauguration, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton said, though Bangladesh is an agriculture based country, farmers of this country do not get fair price of their products due to dishonest middlemen, and for the same reason, consumers are also being forced to purchase those agricultural products at an exorbitant price. He called upon all concern to break the vicious circle of syndicates of middlemen so that farmers get the fair price of their products and consumers can purchase those at a reasonable price.
He further said, while Awami League is in power, farmers got fertiliser, seeds and agricultural inputs at a low price but farmers were shot dead during collecting fertiliser and seeds while other government was in power.
He further mentioned, AL government has almost attained food autarky by increasing agricultural products in the country.
Presided over by Anwarul Kabir, Deputy Project Director of the Department of Agriculture Marketing, the function was attended, among others by, Swapan Kumar Roy, Additional Divisional Commissioner of Rajshahi.
BSS adds : Bangladesh Sericulture Board (BSB) has been implementing three uplift projects to produce 200 metric tonnes of silk yarn by 2015 aimed at fulfilling the internal demand as per its renewed commitment to revive the glorious heritage of the silk.
According to the sources concerned, the enhanced production would contribute a lot to lessen the existing pressure on import of silk yarn, which would help saving huge foreign currencies.
BSB Chairman Sunil Chandra Pal told the news agency that the country produces only 40 metric tonnes of yarn against the annual demand of 300 tons at present.
"We are totally dependent on import of around 260 tons of silk yarn at a cost of Tk 1.04 billion every year to meet up the domestic demand," Sunil Pal said.
He, however, said the local entrepreneurs are gradually being interested to purchase local yarn in context of abnormal price hike of imported ones.
The sericulture and its industrial sector, by its nature, is a family based labor-intensive economic activity that provides employment for the rural people.
About 0.6 million people are involved in this industry of which 0.1 million are cocoon growers and the rest are engaged in silk reeling, spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing and trading activities.
The multidisciplinary activities provide unique job opportunity to the marginal farmers, landless poor, rural artisans and also the urban silk fabric manufacturing industries and can contribute a lot to poverty reduction, he added.
In the country, he said, there are around 80 small and medium silk factories in private sector with capacity of manufacturing 25.50 million metres fabrics annually. Apart from this, there are about 10,000 private handlooms with capacity of producing 30 million meters silk fabric.
Under a five-year project titled "Extension and Development of Sericulture in Public and Private sector in Bangladesh", 23 sericulture villages would be established at the potential areas as a model to improve capacity of small and marginal farmers to establish high yielding mulberry garden and produce superior quality of silk cocoon.
RAJSHAHI, Dec 5: A three-day long Agribusiness Fair-2010 organised by Bangladesh Agribusiness Development Project(BADP) under Agriculture Marketing Department was inaugurated at the Green Plaza of Rajshahi City Corporation(RCC) Saturday afternoon.
Mayor of Rajshahi City Corporation AHM Khairuzzaman Liton inaugurated the fair as the chief guest.
After the inauguration, AHM Khairuzzaman Liton said, though Bangladesh is an agriculture based country, farmers of this country do not get fair price of their products due to dishonest middlemen, and for the same reason, consumers are also being forced to purchase those agricultural products at an exorbitant price. He called upon all concern to break the vicious circle of syndicates of middlemen so that farmers get the fair price of their products and consumers can purchase those at a reasonable price.
He further said, while Awami League is in power, farmers got fertiliser, seeds and agricultural inputs at a low price but farmers were shot dead during collecting fertiliser and seeds while other government was in power.
He further mentioned, AL government has almost attained food autarky by increasing agricultural products in the country.
Presided over by Anwarul Kabir, Deputy Project Director of the Department of Agriculture Marketing, the function was attended, among others by, Swapan Kumar Roy, Additional Divisional Commissioner of Rajshahi.
BSS adds : Bangladesh Sericulture Board (BSB) has been implementing three uplift projects to produce 200 metric tonnes of silk yarn by 2015 aimed at fulfilling the internal demand as per its renewed commitment to revive the glorious heritage of the silk.
According to the sources concerned, the enhanced production would contribute a lot to lessen the existing pressure on import of silk yarn, which would help saving huge foreign currencies.
BSB Chairman Sunil Chandra Pal told the news agency that the country produces only 40 metric tonnes of yarn against the annual demand of 300 tons at present.
"We are totally dependent on import of around 260 tons of silk yarn at a cost of Tk 1.04 billion every year to meet up the domestic demand," Sunil Pal said.
He, however, said the local entrepreneurs are gradually being interested to purchase local yarn in context of abnormal price hike of imported ones.
The sericulture and its industrial sector, by its nature, is a family based labor-intensive economic activity that provides employment for the rural people.
About 0.6 million people are involved in this industry of which 0.1 million are cocoon growers and the rest are engaged in silk reeling, spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, finishing and trading activities.
The multidisciplinary activities provide unique job opportunity to the marginal farmers, landless poor, rural artisans and also the urban silk fabric manufacturing industries and can contribute a lot to poverty reduction, he added.
In the country, he said, there are around 80 small and medium silk factories in private sector with capacity of manufacturing 25.50 million metres fabrics annually. Apart from this, there are about 10,000 private handlooms with capacity of producing 30 million meters silk fabric.
Under a five-year project titled "Extension and Development of Sericulture in Public and Private sector in Bangladesh", 23 sericulture villages would be established at the potential areas as a model to improve capacity of small and marginal farmers to establish high yielding mulberry garden and produce superior quality of silk cocoon.