Govt plans solar-powered mini cold storage network to reduce farmers' losses: Minister
He said the facilities will keep operating costs low, reduce transport expenses and significantly cut post-harvest losses.
Agriculture Minister Mohammed Aminur Rashid has said the government plans to establish solar-powered mini cold storage facilities across the country and build a nationwide digital database of farmers to reduce post-harvest losses, improve production planning and ensure fair prices for agricultural produce.
Speaking at a meeting with agriculture, fisheries and livestock officials at the Chattogram Circuit House today (4 July), Aminur said farmers are incurring significant losses due to inadequate storage facilities and a mismatch between production and market demand.
To tackle the problem, the government plans to install solar-powered mini cold storage facilities near farming areas at public expense, he added.
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Aminur, who is also the fisheries and livestock minister, said the facilities will keep operating costs low, reduce transport expenses and significantly cut post-harvest losses, with emergency backup power costing just Tk500-Tk1,000 a month.
The minister said farmers often incur heavy losses during peak harvest seasons as oversupply drives prices down, forcing some to leave crops such as tomatoes and green chillies unharvested, despite the same produce selling for Tk120-Tk150 per kilogramme during the off-season.
Cold storage facilities would allow them to preserve produce and sell it later at better prices, helping stabilise supply and prices year-round, he said.
Alongside the storage initiative, the government is developing a nationwide digital database through Farmer's Cards that will record farmers' crop and land information to support demand-based production planning and help ensure fair prices, the minister said.
He added that the agriculture ministry is developing early-maturing rice varieties for the haor region and exploring underwater harvesting technology to reduce crop losses from flash floods.
The government is also stepping up efforts to curb illegal fishing by strengthening the coast guard, improving river navigability to support hilsa migration and introducing alternative income opportunities for coastal fishing communities, he said.
It also plans to boost hilsa exports by improving production, processing and marketing standards, while modernising agricultural storage systems to strengthen the rural economy, Aminur added.
