In recent times, the vegetable market in Bangladesh has faced a sharp and abnormal decline in prices, posing significant challenges for farmers. The prices of vegetables such as tomatoes, cauliflower, and other produce have dropped to such an extent that farmers are struggling to recover their production costs. Several underlying factors contribute to this situation, including the lack of accurate demand forecasting, limited direct market access for farmers, inadequate processing and storage facilities, and restricted export opportunities. Additionally, infrastructural limitations and various production-level challenges have exacerbated the financial vulnerability of farmers.
One of the most effective strategies to mitigate the financial losses of farmers is to promote value addition in agricultural products. Instead of solely relying on the sale of raw vegetables, farmers could benefit from producing and marketing processed vegetable products, which could significantly increase their profitability. However, successful implementation of value addition requires a comprehensive and strategic approach that involves the development of diversified products based on consumer demand, along with strong collaboration among agricultural scientists, agricultural economists, nutritionists, and technologists.
Ensuring quality production through farmer training, creating consumer awareness about processed vegetable products, and improving storage and packaging technologies are crucial for expanding the value-added vegetable market in Bangladesh. Currently, value addition activities in the agricultural sector remain limited and have not substantially benefitted farmers. Most companies focus on producing snacks like chips, biscuits, and beverages, but the quality of these products is often questionable. On the contrary, if high-quality processed vegetable products were promoted, such as vegetable powders, sauces, pastes, and ready-to-cook items, farmers could directly benefit from higher market prices.
"Promoting value addition in Bangladesh's agricultural sector,
particularly through vegetable processing, can help farmers overcome
financial challenges caused by fluctuating market prices. By producing
and marketing processed products like vegetable powders, sauces, and
ready-to-cook items, farmers can increase profitability”
The experience of countries like Japan offers valuable insights. Japan has established a well-developed vegetable processing and value addition system, resulting in the widespread popularity of products such as dried vegetables, vegetable powders, sauces, and ready-to-cook items in both domestic and international markets. Bangladesh can adopt a similar approach by strengthening market-driven research, improving storage infrastructure, expanding export opportunities, increasing public-private investment, and raising consumer awareness regarding processed vegetable products.
To ensure effective value addition, several strategic measures must be undertaken. These include developing new vegetable-based processed products based on market analysis, establishing cold storage facilities and processing centres, expanding international market access, forming farmers' cooperatives, providing financial support to small entrepreneurs, and offering low-interest loans for agricultural processing initiatives. Additionally, fostering public awareness about the benefits of high-quality and nutritious processed vegetable products is essential to create a sustainable market.
Promoting value addition in the vegetable sector can significantly enhance farmers' economic stability in Bangladesh. By implementing appropriate policies, promoting research and technology adoption, and developing market strategies, it is possible to transform the agricultural sector into a more profitable and sustainable industry. This transformation would not only benefit farmers economically but also contribute to reducing food wastage, increasing domestic production, and minimizing import dependency. Therefore, adopting a long-term and comprehensive plan to promote vegetable processing and value addition should be considered a priority for the sustainable development of Bangladesh's agricultural sector.
The writer is a PhD researcher, Kagoshima University, Japan
