Some 100 species of vegetables are being cultivated in the country now. Vegetable production has increased almost seven times in the last 12 years. Bangladesh is now the third largest vegetable producing country in the world, where China is the first and India occupies the second position.
Md Sayedul Islam, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture on Sunday said this while he was speaking at a press conference in the Secretariat on the occasion of the ‘National Vegetable Fair 2022’.
The three-day National Vegetable Fair will start today (Monday) on the premises of Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) at Farmgate in the capital. Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque will inaugurate the fair.
The fair, which is being held for the 6th time organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, will continue until March 2. It will run every day from 10 am to 8 pm. There will be stalls of 52 government and non-government organisations in the vegetables fair.
The Secretary said that the theme of the Vegetable Fair is 'Safe Vegetable Cultivation, Health Nutrition for Twelve Months'. Before the inauguration of the fair, a ‘human inspiring procession’ will be brought out from the South Plaza of the Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban to the KIB premises.
Later, a seminar on 'Contribution of Vegetables to Nutrition Security and Agricultural Transformation' will be held at KIB Auditorium. The agriculture minister will be present as the chief guest at the seminar.
Sayedul Islam said the vegetable fair could not be organized last year due to the coronavirus epidemic. The 5th fair was organized in January 2020. A total of 65 stalls and three pavilions were set vegetables worth around Tk 30 lakh were sold at the three-day fair.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, in the fiscal year 2020-21, one crore 97 lakh 18 thousand tons of vegetables were produced in 9.35 lakh hectares of land. In the previous year, one crore 84 lakh 47 thousand tons of vegetables were produced in nine lakh hectares of land.
