Bangladesh’s sugar industry is expected to re-emerge as a vibrant industry. The authorities concerned are trying to increase production and reduce imports as per instructions of the Prime Minister.
The government is also providing innovating high yielding sugarcane and technical support to sugarcane growers.
Industry Secretary Zakia Sultana said this while talking to reporters after visiting the demonstration field at Mubarakganj Sugar Mill in Jhenaidah District.
The industry secretary said, “BAT Bangladesh is working together with Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industry Corporation to support and encourage the production of quality sugarcane through the replacement of Iksur variety.”
He continued, “We have taken several steps to take this promising industry forward, among which this model project of BAT Bangladesh is one of them. I believe that if such initiatives are extended across the country, the country's marginal farmers will be encouraged to cultivate sugarcane and as a result, the sugar mills will regain momentum.”
Sultana further said that with the use of Bandhu Sebha App, Bangladesh Sugar and Food Industry Corporation reached more than 65,000 sugarcane farmers and informed them about improved techniques of sugarcane farming and their applications.
She also said that the farmers received SMS messages on their mobile phones on weather related information. Initiatives are being taken by the Ministry of Industry to inform the sugarcane farmers of their problems by calling the mobile numbers existing in the database stored in the Hello Farmers app and to solve them immediately.
BSFIC jointly with BAT Bangladesh has set up demonstration sugarcane field on 30.25 acres of 5 sugar mill farms and progressive sugarcane farmers to increase sugarcane yield to 50-60 million tonnes through best practices in sugarcane cultivation, the progress of which is very satisfactory so far.
Chairman of BSFIC Md. Arifur Rahman Apu said, “There is no alternative to sustainable agriculture system to reduce import dependence on sugar. We want to spread the success that we got in this project through BAT Bangladesh among the farmers, so that they are more motivated to cultivate sugarcane in the coming days.”
British American Tobacco (BAT) Bangladesh Chairman Golam Moin Uddin, sugar mill officials and local sugarcane farmers were present during the visit.