Emerging Export Oriented Vegetable Hub “Jashore”

Jashore district has been the highest vegetable producing area of Bangladesh for the last couple of decades. Although vegetable farmers of Jashore have long-term engagement with vegetable production but due to lack of proper technical knowhow often experience loses. The Sustainable Agriculture Food Security and Linkages (SaFaL) Project, launched 8 years ago is trying to develop and promote vegetables farmers towards entrepreneurship. The project has identified some key bottlenecks in vegetable production and is being successful to overcome those in these years. The project lead Solidaridad Network Asia with the financial assistance of The Royal Netherland Embassy is being instrumental in this regards and Jagorani Chakra Foundation (JCF) as implementing partner is equally successful to translate the theme among farmers’ community. SaFaL project is bening implemented in Jashore and Narail covering 7 upazilas targeting three sub sector Dairy, Aqua and Horticulture to meet up the project objective of enhancing food and nutrition security of small holder farmers and landless worker in the delta region of Bangladesh with focus on developing resilient livelihood. Food safety and food security is the main issue with the enabling market system development. As a part of focusing on safe vegetable production, the project intended to take intervention at Jashore Sadar and Monirampur upozilla with 10032 farmers. The project introduced some environmentally friendly agro technology like use of vermin compost, sex pheromone trap, yellow board, white board, mehagoni oil & cake etc. At the same time the DAE is promptly giving support to increase adoption of these technologies frequently among the farmers. Gradually farmers have become familiar with the technologies and are being successful to produce safe vegetables in the region that attracts big buyers and exporters. The DG agriculture in 2018 declared Jashore the vegetable export zone after visiting the field. The farmers of the project are successful to export upto 1316 MT vegetables so far in Middle East, Eastern Asia and Europe. SaFaL assists farmers being equipped to meeting up the buyers’ requirement through technology and business transformation. Project established collection as well as resource centre to consider some factors like potentiality of bulk production but presence of volatile market system, comparatively expensive transport cost and long distance of fields etc. About 10 vegetable collection centres are leading the business as vegetable business hub and from this place; farmers are getting all sorts of facilities, like – grading, sorting, washing and packaging along with availing production technology and business information. Now they are having competitive price of products and making profit.