Rajshahi experts for vegetable preservation to prevent wastage

Experts stressed proper vegetable preservation to save it from being wasted and thus to protect farmers and businessmen from being affected financially in the region.

They said vegetables can be preserved in cold storage to lessen at least 25 per cent of unexpected losses as every year, the farmers incur huge financial losses due to the lack of proper preservation facilities in Rajshahi.

Rajshahi is the largest vegetable-producing region in the country, supplying an extensive quantity of vegetables to the capital city Dhaka, the port city Chattogram and other parts of the country.

Currently, vegetables have become lucrative cash crops for farmers as their purchasing and selling became easier for massive infrastructural development, including roads, culverts and bridges, everywhere in the region.

Mozdar Hossain, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension said: "The Ministry of Agriculture has recognized Rajshahi district as the largest vegetable producer in Bangladesh."

He said the local farmers here are very aware of the procedures necessary for a healthy harvest.

They properly fertilize the soil and spray the proper quantity of pesticides to increase vegetable production in Rajshahi, he added.

The agriculture ministry said during 2017-18, farmers cultivated vegetables on 42,235 hectares of land and produced 402,790 tonnes of vegetables.

It also said 16.69 tonnes of vegetables were produced per hectare on average in Rajshahi.

Mozder Hossain said if potatoes are added to the quantity of vegetable production, it will definitely be bigger in the district.

"However, farmers are not getting proper profits due to lack of preservation facilities," he said.

Agricultural expert Monzurul Huda said the establishment of natural cold storage is of the essence for the long-term preservation of vegetables.

The first ever natural cold storage has been functioning at Paba upazila of the district successfully for the last couple of years bringing a silent revolution for this region.

The farmers can store their species like garlic, green chilli, and green vegetables at the cold storage for Tk 10 per kilogram charge only.

It is not very high as they took all responsibilities for the farmers' crops, the cold storage authority sources said.

Nurul Islam, a teacher of Mougachi High School of the upazila, said every year a huge quantity of vegetables, fruits and species get rotten due to lack of proper storage here.

Now they can easily preserve their crops and vegetables in this newly built cold storage.

/KN/