The authorities concerned are taking integrated initiatives to exploit the potential of almonds and coffee as there is a huge potential of these cultivation in the hilly region and northern parts of the country.
There is a lot of potential for almond and coffee cultivation in all parts of the country, including the hilly areas. To bring it under cultivation, a project worth Tk 211 crore titled ‘Almond and Coffee Research, Development and Expansion’ has been taken up.
Agriculture Minister Md Abdur Razzque said this while speaking as the chief guest at an awareness workshop on ‘Almond and Coffee Research, Development and Expansion’ project at Bandarban Zilla Parishad auditorium on Sunday.
He said, “It is possible to earn a lot of foreign currency not only by producing in the country, but also by processing raw almonds importing from abroad. That is why it is very important to increase the processing of almonds. In order to remove the problem of almonds processing and setting up processing facilities, the duty rate on import of raw almonds has already been reduced from about 90 percent to only 5 percent”.
The minister has also informed that all kinds of assistance is being provided for the cultivation, increasing production and processing of these economically highly valuable crops like almonds and coffee.
The minister called upon the farmers and entrepreneurs to come forward in almond and coffee cultivation. He also directed the officials of the Department of Agriculture to innovate the improved varieties and technologies suitable for the country and disseminate them to the farmers.
Earlier on the day, the agriculture minister inspected the production of improved varieties of coffee and almond seedlings at the local Horticulture Center.
The Tk 211 crore ‘Almond and Coffee Research, Development and Expansion’ project will be implemented in 2021-25. Through this, innovation of high yielding and improved varieties of seedlings, transfer of technology, training will be provided to the farmers. Besides, farmers will also get training on processing and marketing.
Project Director Shahidul Islam said, “There are about 500,000 hectares of uncultivated land in the three hill districts. If we can cultivate almonds on 2 lakh hectares of this land, it is possible to earn Tk 9,000 crore a year. Besides, it will be possible to meet the local demand by cultivating coffee in hilly lands.”
He further said, “If coffee can be cultivated on 1 lakh hectares of land, it is possible to produce 2 lakh tonnes of coffee with a market value of around Tk 8,500 crore”.
Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension Md Asadullah, Senior Secretary of the Ministry Md Mesbahul Islam, Additional Secretary Wahida Akter, BADC Chairman Dr Amitabh Sarkar, Chairman of Bandarban District Council Kya Shai Hla, Deputy Director of Agriculture Extension Department Bandarban AKM Nazmul Haque including farmers, entrepreneurs and processors were present at the time.
