Crops worth Tk11,000cr go to waste annually: BBS

From harvesting to marketing, various crops – amounting to Tk11,000 crore – are wasted every year during this process.

Of the total, paddy alone faces more than 28 lakh tonnes in damages whose market value is about Tk7,000 crore.

The other crops which suffer the same are wheat, maize, jute, potato, lentil, turmeric and chilli. 

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics came up with the observation while presenting the “Agricultural and Rural Statistics-2018” report on Sunday.

But the report did not explain the reason behind the waste of crops.  

However, agriculturists said although the use of technology has increased in ploughing land and irrigation, but there is no use of machine for threshing as of now. 

As a result of it, every year a large amount of paddy gets wasted during threshing, storing, and marketing for mismanagement.

Special emphasis was given on increasing food production in Bangladesh which was once ridden with hunger and poverty, said former director general of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) M Hamidur Rahman.

But no attention has been given to reduce crop waste and ensure its quality, he added.

As the food deficit has come down to nearly zero percent, now the focus has been shifted to other aspects, M Hamidur said. 

He opined that if the post-harvest losses of crops are brought down to zero level, food security will be ensured.

In recent times, the rice production has increased substantially, said Dr Towfiqul Islam Khan, senior research fellow of private think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD). But no use of technology except power tiller in paddy cultivation is visible now, he said adding that all government incentives are centred upon power tiller.

Farmers lack efficiency in preserving crops on top of inadequate storage facilities, the CPD senior research fellow also said. 

Apart from minimising waste of crops, an additional emphasis has to be given on ensuring fair prices.  

The government will have to take an initiative to construct infrastructures for food preservation, he maintained.