2024-02-21 22:28:30
Agriculture Minister Abdus Shaheed said that after harvesting in Bangladesh, about 30 percent of crops and food are lost or wasted at various stages. This is very important in terms of food safety. Reducing the amount of food waste and waste will strengthen our food security system.
The minister said this at a session on food and water conservation and prevention of food waste at the 37th Asia and Pacific Regional Conference of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo on Wednesday (February 21). This information has been informed in a press release sent by the Ministry of Agriculture.
At that time, the agriculture minister said that the current government’s priority in agriculture is to reduce the huge amount of wastage and wastage after harvest. In Selaksha, the government is providing agricultural machinery to farmers at 50-70 per cent subsidy and has taken initiatives to construct multi-purpose cold storage, multi-crop integrated storage and provide refrigerated vehicles for transporting vegetables. Emphasis is being laid on agricultural processing.
The minister also said that huge investment is needed in harvesting, threshing, transportation and storage to reduce the amount of food spoilage and wastage. He said, the government is working seriously. Still, these sectors require huge private and foreign investment. We are now giving priority to Public-Private Partnership (PPP). FAO can assist in attracting foreign investment.
Mahmudur Rahman, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and FAO’s Bangladesh Representative, Xiaokun Xi, were present at the event.
In the morning, the Minister spoke at a function organized by Bangladesh High Commission of Sri Lanka and the country’s Ministry of Education at Colombo’s Independence Square on the occasion of Great Martyrs’ Day and International Mother Language Day on February 21.
Besides, the minister held separate meetings with Japanese State Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Suzuki Norikazu and Malaysian Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohammad Sabu.