Home
Editorial Calendar
Post-harvest losses are a major threat to food security in Bangladesh
Story in: November-2024
Story: Post-harvest losses are a major threat to food security in Bangladesh
Eminent agricultural researchers have urged farmers to reduce food wastage at various stages as well as crop yield loss as a major threat to the country's food security. Around 16 million tonnes of food grains are now wasted in the country due to post-harvest losses, agricultural experts said.
Bangladesh has made significant improvements in food production and increased per capita food availability over the past few decades, but post-harvest losses and food wastage pose a risk to achieving overall food security. In the last two decades from 2000 to 2023, rice production increased by 62 percent, maize by 542 percent, potatoes by 225 percent, pulses by 144 percent, oilseeds by 310 percent, and vegetables by 197 percent. However, post-harvest losses of rice were 12 percent, maize 13, potatoes 20, pulses and oilseeds 15 percent, and vegetables 25 percent, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture.
In the case of milk production, the post-harvest loss is 9.07 percent as 1.28 million tonnes are lost every year in the country. Statistics show that post-harvest losses are 6.9 percent in meat production, 7 percent in fish production, and 12.9 percent in egg production. SAARC Agriculture Center Director Dr. Md. Harunur Rashid said that one-third of Bangladesh's horticultural produce, mainly vegetables and fruits, is wasted due to a lack of storage and preservation facilities and a proper transportation system. (SAC).
Officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said that the growth rate of fruits and vegetables has increased by about ten percent but post-harvest wastage has become a huge concern and they have no solution yet. According to DAE and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Bangladesh is one of the world's leading producers of rice, potato, jackfruit, mango, and guava. In the fiscal year 2019-20, Bangladesh ranks fourth in the world with rice production of 5.26 crore tonnes and the country ranks third in the world with 1.6 crore tonnes in vegetable production per year. It ranks sixth in potato production at 1.2 crore tonnes.
Bangladesh ranks second in jackfruit production at 10 lakh tonnes in a year and eighth largest in mango production at 24 lakh tonnes annually. Post-harvest wastage in Bangladesh deprives farmers of maximum profits despite their hard work, agro-experts opined. Hafizul Haque Khan, chief scientific officer of the post-harvest division of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, said that fruits and vegetables are the most vulnerable to wastage of agricultural products in Bangladesh because they contain a lot of water.
"There is no systematic management of storage, preservation, and transportation of these products from producer to consumer level," he said.
Khan added that "it is not possible to fully understand the exact extent of damage," scientist Harunur Rashid suggested investing in developing strong cold chain infrastructure to address post-harvest challenges. More than 400 cold storages with a combined capacity of 60 lakh tonnes are operational across the country which are mainly used for storage of potatoes. This type of cold storage is not suitable for storing fruits and vegetables.
There is a privately owned special cold storage of 1,000 tonnes capacity at Tejgaon in the city where only imported fruits are stored. There is another specialized cold storage facility for vegetables and fruits with a capacity of 120 tonnes near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, which is used only by exporters.
In this context, the Directorate of Agriculture Marketing has taken the initiative to set up 25 specialized cold storage facilities across the country with a combined storage capacity of 3,000 tonnes of vegetables or fruits. The project is expected to be implemented by December 2024 at a Government Funding (GOB) cost of Rs 270 crore.
Director of Agriculture Marketing Department (Grain Credit and Warehouse Management) Dr. Fatema Wadud said that the capacity of each proposed cold storage would be 300 tons to 500 tons. The total storage capacity of all cold storage will be 3 thousand tons. 12.3 of the SDGs, calls for halving by 2030 global food waste per capita at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses in production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.
Home Editorial Calendar Post-harvest losses are a major threat to food security in Bangladesh
Story: Post-harvest losses are a major threat to food security in Bangladesh
Eminent agricultural researchers have urged farmers to reduce food wastage at various stages as well as crop yield loss as a major threat to the country's food security. Around 16 million tonnes of food grains are now wasted in the country due to post-harvest losses, agricultural experts said.
Bangladesh has made significant improvements in food production and increased per capita food availability over the past few decades, but post-harvest losses and food wastage pose a risk to achieving overall food security. In the last two decades from 2000 to 2023, rice production increased by 62 percent, maize by 542 percent, potatoes by 225 percent, pulses by 144 percent, oilseeds by 310 percent, and vegetables by 197 percent. However, post-harvest losses of rice were 12 percent, maize 13, potatoes 20, pulses and oilseeds 15 percent, and vegetables 25 percent, according to statistics from the Ministry of Agriculture.
In the case of milk production, the post-harvest loss is 9.07 percent as 1.28 million tonnes are lost every year in the country. Statistics show that post-harvest losses are 6.9 percent in meat production, 7 percent in fish production, and 12.9 percent in egg production. SAARC Agriculture Center Director Dr. Md. Harunur Rashid said that one-third of Bangladesh's horticultural produce, mainly vegetables and fruits, is wasted due to a lack of storage and preservation facilities and a proper transportation system. (SAC).
Officials of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said that the growth rate of fruits and vegetables has increased by about ten percent but post-harvest wastage has become a huge concern and they have no solution yet. According to DAE and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Bangladesh is one of the world's leading producers of rice, potato, jackfruit, mango, and guava. In the fiscal year 2019-20, Bangladesh ranks fourth in the world with rice production of 5.26 crore tonnes and the country ranks third in the world with 1.6 crore tonnes in vegetable production per year. It ranks sixth in potato production at 1.2 crore tonnes.
Bangladesh ranks second in jackfruit production at 10 lakh tonnes in a year and eighth largest in mango production at 24 lakh tonnes annually. Post-harvest wastage in Bangladesh deprives farmers of maximum profits despite their hard work, agro-experts opined. Hafizul Haque Khan, chief scientific officer of the post-harvest division of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, said that fruits and vegetables are the most vulnerable to wastage of agricultural products in Bangladesh because they contain a lot of water.
"There is no systematic management of storage, preservation, and transportation of these products from producer to consumer level," he said.
Khan added that "it is not possible to fully understand the exact extent of damage," scientist Harunur Rashid suggested investing in developing strong cold chain infrastructure to address post-harvest challenges. More than 400 cold storages with a combined capacity of 60 lakh tonnes are operational across the country which are mainly used for storage of potatoes. This type of cold storage is not suitable for storing fruits and vegetables.
There is a privately owned special cold storage of 1,000 tonnes capacity at Tejgaon in the city where only imported fruits are stored. There is another specialized cold storage facility for vegetables and fruits with a capacity of 120 tonnes near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, which is used only by exporters.
In this context, the Directorate of Agriculture Marketing has taken the initiative to set up 25 specialized cold storage facilities across the country with a combined storage capacity of 3,000 tonnes of vegetables or fruits. The project is expected to be implemented by December 2024 at a Government Funding (GOB) cost of Rs 270 crore.
Director of Agriculture Marketing Department (Grain Credit and Warehouse Management) Dr. Fatema Wadud said that the capacity of each proposed cold storage would be 300 tons to 500 tons. The total storage capacity of all cold storage will be 3 thousand tons. 12.3 of the SDGs, calls for halving by 2030 global food waste per capita at the retail and consumer levels and reducing food losses in production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.
- Editor at Online Information Reliance
SHeare