The Ministry of Agriculture in Bangladesh is eying to increase the production of tuber crops, especially quality potato seeds and their preservation and distribution in a bid to ensure food security and thus alleviate poverty, reports UNB.
In this connection, the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) Tuesday approved a Tk 4.21 billion project, titled 'Tuber Crops Development Project'. Of the total amount, Tk 2.69 billion will come from the government fund while Tk 1.53 billion (153 crore) from BADC's own resources.
The project tenured from July 2010 to June 2013 will be implemented through Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC), Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI).
Under the BADC component of the project activities, five cold storages each with 2,000 tonnes capacity will be set up in Panchagarh, Lalmonirhat, Sirajganj, Tangail and Munshiganj. Besides, the capacity of two existing cold storages -- one in Bogra and another in Chandpur -- will be raised to 1,000 tonnes, according to Planning Ministry sources.
The project aims at producing breeder seeds of potato through tissue culture technology in a bid to reduce import dependence, extending cultivation of sweet potato and the cassava varieties invented by BARI to the Sidr affected and monga-prone areas, creating local market through developing marketing channel, collecting local and foreign germplasm to innovate high-yielding, salt- and drought-tolerant varieties, and enhancing skills of the BARI scientists.
As the annual per capita potato consumption in the country is only 40 kg, there is a huge scope for increasing potato consumption and production to reduce pressure on the cereal crops.
