Bangladeshi farmers, food processors might get benefit from Dutch expertise and technology after a high-level government and business delegation, led by the Agriculture Minister DR Muhammad Abdur Razzaque concluded a visit to the Netherlands.
Bangladesh has ambitions to greatly expand its fruit and vegetable exports; food processing capacity and it hopes to emulate the success of the Netherlands, which is the largest fresh vegetable exporter in the world as well as the world’s second-largest exporter of agri-food products, said the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations press release.
Dr Razzaque was on a visit to the Netherlands, accompanied by Dr Md Ruhul Amin Talukder, agriculture additional secretary (project planning and co-ordination); Mohammed Yousuf, Director-General of the Department of Agricultural Marketing, private sector representation including Mostafa Kamal, chairman and managing director of the Meghna Group of Industries, Dr FH Ansarey, managing director and CEO of ACI Agro Link; Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman and chief executive officer of Pran Foods; Md Parvez Saiful Islam, chief operating officer of Square Food and Beverage; Kazi Inam Ahmed, director of the Gemcon Group;
SM Jahangir Hossain, president of the Bangladesh Fruits, Vegetables and Allied Products Exporters Association also joined the mission along with representatives from FAO, Ambassador of Bangladesh to the Netherlands M Riaz Hamidullah who oversaw the planning of the mission.
Speaking at the end of the official trip, Dr Razzaque said that Bangladesh will benefit from Dutch technology and know-how.
“The mission has been very successful and we have learned much about opportunities for technological support for increasing agricultural productivity and the processing value addition chain,” he said.
He said: “To be competitive in the global market in terms of price, quality, and safety, I think it’s important to keep updated with the latest technology and how we can take some of them back home to increase productivity”.
“Productivity here is very high and how they manage post-harvest handling is impressive. They produce many high-value products. They also import some of the commodities – fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, flowers – and they export to different countries in the world, including Europe and the USA,” he said.
Dr Razzaque also met the Dutch minister for foreign affairs, Tom de Bruijn, and the Dutch vice minister of the ministry of agriculture and natural resources.
The delegation, led by Dr Razzaque also visited numerous locations including the World Horticulture Center, Wageningen University and Research, a water management and information technology company, one of the world’s biggest onion exporting companies, a leading vegetable storage and processing company, as well as a range of other agriculture companies who grow and process produce which is exported around the world.
It was announced that there will be a trade mission from the Netherlands to Bangladesh by March next year.
In addition, potato and onion experts from the Netherlands will train officials from the department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) of Bangladesh who will then train local farmers.
FAO Representative in Bangladesh, Robert D. Simpson, said that FAO is supporting the agriculture ministry to understand market priorities over the next 10 to 20 years and to formulate investment strategies to help transform the agriculture sector.
He said the Netherlands is a world leader in fruit and vegetable exports and food processing and is very efficient in terms of agricultural productivity.
He said the connections made and knowledge shared during this mission might be a great opportunity for continued exchange and partnership, bringing new opportunities for farmers, food businesses, and agricultural students of Bangladesh.
