Women agro traders contribution to rural economy on rise

The economy of Bangladesh is directly and indirectly dependent on agriculture since the country is an agricultural one. The contribution of agriculture to the countrys gross domestic product (GDP) is about 14 percent. While the contribution of women along with men to the economy, especially in rural economy, is increasing.
Experts said in almost every village of the country, women are conducting activities on their own initiative and contributing to the economy. Direct involvement of women to achieve sustainable development goals (SDGs) is essential.
According to statistic,  women are a significant part of the total labor force. Of them 68 percent of the female labor force is engaged in agriculture, including the process of pre-sowing of crops, harvesting, processing, marketing and outdoor cultivation of crops and vegetables, drying and processing of fish, cattle rearing and poultry farming.
Over the past few decades, millions of new workers have been added to the countrys economic activities and over half of them are women. Most of them are working in agriculture sector and running agro business.
Prof. Md. Matiur Rahman of Fisheries Biology and Genetics Department of Bangladesh Agricultural University said, "Woman entrepreneurs are created when a woman thinks about her own employment and tries to set up a business by herself without doing any job or being under anyone. Diverse agriculture production has increased in the country due to the involvement of women entrepreneurs in agriculture" he added.Woman entrepreneur Sahida Khanam of Mymensingh, who planted over 1,000 dragon Fruit saplings on her 440 square feet of rooftop space, said that in the last season she produced 280 kgs of dragon fruit and sold to the market. Besides, more than 30 species of leafy vegetables, 20 species of flowering plants, avocados, dates, litchis and mango and lemon trees in her garden.
Sahida herself take care of these trees. She produces dragon fruit using organic fertilizers. She said that she has provided dragon fruit seedlings to 500-1000small and large hobby gardeners in different parts of the country through courier services.    —BSS