Quality fruit and food products are produced in the country, but the sector's potential cannot be fully used because of a lack of proper publicity, weak consumer awareness and poor coordination between farmers and scientists.

So said S M Nazer Hossain, vice-president of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB). He said effective coordination must be built between the government, scientists, farmers and consumers for the country's food security, safe food and the growth of the fruit processing industry.

He was speaking at a round table titled "Fruit Processing: Problems and Prospects" at the Jago News office in Badda, Dhaka, on Saturday 27 June. Jago News editor K M Ziaul Haque chaired and moderated the event, which was attended by government officials, entrepreneurs, farmers and experts.

Nazer Hossain said Bangladeshi consumers are generally drawn more to low prices than to product quality or origin. As a result, the tendency to choose safe, quality food is weak, which is worrying for food safety.

Scientists keep developing new improved varieties and technologies, but there is a lack of effective communication with farmers in the field, he said. Because of this, the benefits of research often do not reach farmers and safe food production is hampered.

He said farmers and middlemen, hoping for higher profits, often market farm produce without observing the necessary waiting time. At the same time, unhygienic conditions and irregularities are eroding consumer confidence in processed food, which is also hurting the country's export market.

The CAB leader demanded effective policy support from the government to keep farmers going, in particular cutting transport and freight costs, expanding cold storage and ensuring proper use of government innovation projects.

In Nazer Hossain's view, various government agencies send many messages to farmers and entrepreneurs, but awareness programmes for consumers are relatively few. As a result, ordinary people do not get enough information about good local products, and many turn to foreign products even when quality local ones are made. The government must play a more active role in promoting local products, he said.

There is no alternative to a joint effort by the government, scientists, farmers, entrepreneurs and consumers for the country's food security and the sustainable development of the fruit processing industry, he said.

Also present were Dr Jahangir Alam Khan, former vice-chancellor of the University of Global Village, researcher and agricultural economist; Dr Md Golam Ferdous Chowdhury, chief scientific officer of the Post-Harvest Technology Division of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI); Dr Md Mehedi Masud, former project director of the Year-round Fruit Production Project and fruit expert; Mohammad Arifur Rahman, director of the DAE's exportable mango production project; Enamul Haque, deputy director (food and agriculture) of BSTI; Ilias Mridha, managing director of PRAN Group; Md Abul Hashem, managing director of Hashem Foods Limited; Md Iktadul Haque, former general secretary of the Bangladesh Agro-Processors' Association (BAPA); Md Mahatab Ali, executive director of Kaju and Coffee Agro; Chapainawabganj agri-entrepreneur Ismail Khan Shamim; and Naogaon agri-entrepreneur Sohel Rana.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.