To commercialise and make the agriculture sector profitable, the government is putting much emphasis on unconventional cash crops including almonds, coffee, black pepper, and others.
Cultivating such potential crops in large areas of the hills can also help to develop economic conditions.
Besides local demands, as these unconventional crops have huge demand in the international market with good price offers, the authorities concerned are working to increase the cultivation and processing of such crops.
Agriculture Minister Md Abdur Razzque made the remarks after inspecting almond, coffee, mango and other orchards in Ruma upazila of Bandarban district on Saturday.
The minister said, “There is a lot of potential to cultivate other fruits including pineapple, mango and dragon. We are working to innovate improved varieties and technologies of almonds and coffee and to spread the cultivation of these crops more widely. These will revolutionize the economy of the Chattogram Hill Tracts and at the same time a spectacular improvement will also appear among the hilly area people’s life. By meeting the demand of the country, a lot of foreign exchange can be earned by exporting the produce”.
“The country is currently producing almonds and coffee on a small scale. Not just the hilly regions, but all over the country where there is a lot of potential for almond and coffee cultivation; and areas which are not being cultivated at present will also be brought under cashew and coffee cultivation in phases. To this end, a project worth Tk 211 crore titled ‘Research, Development and Expansion of Almond and Coffee’ has been taken up recently,” added the minister.
“We are providing free improved varieties of saplings, technology and advice to farmers and entrepreneurs to popularize the cultivation of these non-conventional crops,” he said adding that, “Last year, 1.56 lakh almond saplings were given to farmers free of cost. And this year 3 lakh saplings will be provided”.
Besides, the tariff rate on raw almond imports has been reduced from about 90 percent to only 5 percent to alleviate the problem of processing of almonds in the country and to build processing facilities, the agriculture minister said.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension-DAE, the scope for expansion of field crops is very limited in the Chattogram Hill Tracts due to lack of flat land. However, there is a possibility of bringing about 22 percent of the total land area under horticulture.
Due to the geo-natural location and favorable climate, there are many opportunities for cultivation of coffee and almond, horticultural and spice crops in the Chattogram Hill Tracts.
In addition, the hilly features of other parts of the country, including the Barind region, are suitable for almond and coffee cultivation. There is a huge opportunity to increase the production of almonds and coffee manifolds through the invention and expansion of modern varieties and advanced technology of almonds and coffee in these lands.
During the visit, Chattogram Hill Tracts Minister Bir Bahadur Ushaising, Senior Secretary of the Agriculture Ministry Md. Mesbahul Islam, Additional Secretary Wahida Akter, Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension Md. Asadullah, Chairman of BADC Dr. Amitabh Sarkar among others were present.