Govt relaxes contract farming term for non-European markets

The government has relaxed the contract farming condition for the exporters of agriculture produces, allowing some time for them to take necessary preparations before entering the highly-regulated overseas markets.
Earlier, the Plant Quarantine Wing (PQW) under the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) had made contract farming compulsory for the exporters effective from January 15 last.
Amid demands by the exporters following a directive in this regard, an inter-ministerial meeting on January 21 last decided to allow the expordters only for this season to ship winter crops to the regions outside Europe without contract farming, officials said.
Officials from the ministries of commerce and agriculture, the PQW and representatives from the exporters were present at the meeting.
Md Anwar Hossain Khan, deputy director of PQW (Export), told the FE that all the exporters will have to collect products from their contract growers from next Robi season (November 16-March 15).
The PQW will also allow summer crops export without contract farming until June this year.
From the Kharif-2 season (July 16- November 15), they must show papers of contract growing, issued by the local DAE office.
Mr Khan said exports of farm produces to Europe have come under contract farming as the exporters are now buying those from their contract growers.
"We are going to make it compulsory for every market under our reform programme to make the country top-ranking in terms of compliances," he said.
The PQW issued a directive on November 13 last year, making good agricultural practice (GAP) and contract farming mandatory for exporting vegetables, fruits, potatoes, betel leaves and other produces.
The exporters, however, said making contract growing compulsory for every market is unnecessary and it could hurt our exports.
Md Arif Azad Prince, managing director of Masawa Agro Ltd, said that he exports cabbage, potato, pumpkin and other produces to Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Middle-Eastern countries.
"Our buyers never demanded papers related to contract growing; they need safe food and we supply those accordingly after collecting from the farmers who adopted good agricultural practice (GAP)," he said.
He said that it took us 40 years to make a space in the markets of the Middle-Eastern and ASEAN countries.
"How could we develop the infrastructure where all suppliers will be turned into contract growers just in a year," he questioned.
He said the market might be grabbed by our competitor countries like India and Thailand as they have not such condition.
Secretary of Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Product Exporters Association (BFVAPEA) Mohammed Mansur told the FE that it is a good news that the government has extended the deadline of mandatory contract farming.
"It will help surpass the export target of US$ 711 million for the current fiscal year," he said. "At the same time, we request the government to rethink about the decision of contract growing."
The country's exporters collect produces from around 30,000 farmers, including only 6,000-7,000 contract growers.
"The exporters need some more years to make formal contracts with all the suppliers," he said. "Till then, we have to adopt policies based on different markets."
However, the sector showed tremendous performance in the first seven months of the current fiscal year (FY'19), registering an export growth of 61 per cent than that of the last FY.
Exporters fetched US$ 580 million so far in the current FY, according to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB).

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