Govt to give cash incentive to agro items exporters

Commerce Minister Tofail Ahmed Thursday said the government will provide cash incentive to exporters of non-traditional agro products to boost agricultural shipment.
He said this while speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the three-day Bangladesh Agro Fair 2014 as the chief guest.
The programme, organised by the ministry of agriculture (MoA), is being held at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city. It aims to ensure presence of policy-makers, agri-entrepreneurs, progressive farmers and consumers from home and abroad.
A total of 50 companies from nine countries are exhibiting seeds, fertilisers, food processing machineries, and packaging technologies etc in the fair. It is open for all from 11.00 am to 7.00 pm till tomorrow (Saturday).
The commerce minister said:  "We will give all kinds of help, if the private sector takes initiative to launch cargo air service in the country for exporting agricultural produces."
The minister informed the newsmen that the government will export 50,000-100,000 tonnes of coarse rice to Sri Lanka.
He said Russia will import 0.1 million tonnes of potato from Bangladesh every year, and the country will even help to setup cold storages here.
The minister expressed his optimism that Bangladesh's export volume will reach US$40 billion within the next five years, if the present trend in export growth can be maintained. In 1972-73, the country exported only 25 kinds of products, while the number has now reached 800, he added.
He also hoped that a fertiliser factory could be set up in Bhola to help boost production in the southern districts.
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury was the special guest of the programme.
She said, "The production scenario in the country is very good, but we have to emphasise marketing (of the agro products)."
"The farmers have to be given fair price, which is necessary for higher production growth."
She said the government is now providing 25 per incentive on purchasing farm machineries in many districts. The area will be increased further in the coming days.
The minister said the government is now discouraging use of deep tube-wells, and promoting cultivation using surface water.
Director General of Seed Wing under MoA Anwar Faruqe presented the keynote paper, titled "Technological Advancement: The Way to Sustain Agricultural Growth", in the programme.
The paper mentioned that hybrid crops are now being cultivated in the country's 0.7 million hectares of land.
The country is now almost self-sufficient in both vegetables and paddy seeds, it added.
Agriculture Secretary Dr S M Najmul Islam, chairman of ACI Limited and president of Bangladesh Seed Association (BSA) M Anis Ud Dowla, president of Bangladesh Auto Major and Husking Mill Malik Samity Md Abdur Rashid, among others, also spoke on the occasion.