Bangladesh has opened a gamma irradiation centre to sterilise farm produce and extend its storage life, with mangoes and jackfruit for export named as the first beneficiaries. The new centre at the regional research station of the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) at Bhabanipur in Gazipur was inaugurated on Saturday, 31 October.
The nuclear-technology centre for treating and preserving farm produce cost Tk 89 crore. Speakers at the opening said the technology will lengthen storage life, kill microbes and keep the quality of the produce intact.
Mohammad Aminur Rashid, minister for agriculture and for fisheries and livestock, said there is strong international demand for Bangladeshi mangoes and jackfruit, and that mangoes from Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj are of good quality. If such produce can be sterilised and stored longer, he said, new export opportunities will open. He added that a Chinese delegation had recently shown interest in importing Bangladeshi mangoes.
The minister said there are plans to set up similar centres in important districts in phases, to cut rot and waste and to make farmers' produce safer and of better quality. He also stressed training skilled technical staff to run the technology.
BINA director general Dr Sharful Haque Bhuiyan chaired the event. Dr S M Rafiqul Islam, MP for Gazipur-3, agriculture secretary Md Selim Khan and Dr Jiaoqun Shi, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Bangladesh, also spoke.
Quality and shelf life are conditions of entry to export markets. Having the treatment available inside the country could make it easier for mango growers and exporters to meet foreign buyers' requirements, the organisers said.
Reporting: Agricare24 staff correspondent.
Photo: Ibrahim Husain Meraj / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Agricare24
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