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Bangladesh Eager to Buy Land Abroad and Do 'Contract Farming'

Farming in Sudan. Photo: Collected

Farming in Sudan. Photo: Collected

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said the government has started efforts to take up agricultural land abroad and create opportunities for cultivation with workers from the country.

He made the remarks at a seminar on 'Contract Farming and Job Opportunity for Bangladesh Abroad' at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.

Ambassador Golam Masih presented a concept paper on farming abroad or contract farming.

Mr. Masih was Bangladesh's ambassador to Saudi Arabia and also represented Sudan in Africa as Bangladesh's representative to the OIC.

He told BBC Bangla that buying and cultivating land abroad, especially in African countries, would play a role in food security as well as create jobs for Bangladeshis.

But what is meant by contract farming

Ambassador Golam Masih told the BBC that the government would take the initiative to buy agricultural land in different countries and then workers from Bangladesh would go there to work and harvest crops.

"It can be purchased directly by the government or through an organization. And the African countries are the most suitable for this. Because they have a lot of uncultivated agricultural land. There is a shortage in the countries. So if we cultivate the land, they can buy it at a lower price. The crops produced there can be brought to Bangladesh as required, ”said Mr Masih.

He said an initiative was taken by the government in 2010 and a team visited different countries but no progress was made later.

"We have some similarities with African countries in many ways. There are a lot of Indians and Pakistanis there who will help create a conducive environment for Bangladeshis. Africa has a lot of land as well as water. The weather is similar to us. , "Said Mr. Christ.

He said some Bangladeshis are now working on private initiative to lease huge amount of agricultural land in different countries of Africa.

The government is looking for opportunities, said the foreign minister

Referring to his experience of visiting the Central African Republic in 2012, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said the country was five and a half times larger than Bangladesh, but did not produce crops and suffered heavy losses due to the war.

He said, "It rains like our country and the soil is fertile. I told the president there to give us your land, we will bring in farmers who will grow crops here. In response, the president said they are willing to give land to tens of thousands of people. ".

He said officials from the foreign ministry had visited many countries to look at agriculture, but they had not made much progress.

"Now we have to invest there. We have to take agricultural land. We have to take our own people there. We are trying to figure out how to create that opportunity. We have talked to Sudan. There are offers to give Kenya land. In many cases we will not need any money."

A Bangladeshi company started in Tanzania 10 years ago

Officials say Bangladeshis have already started working in various African countries, not privately, but privately.

A Bangladeshi company started planting paddy, maize and pulses in 30,000 hectares of land in Tanzania, an East African country, in 2011.

The agreement reached between the two sides at that time was to take 80 percent of the required workers from Bangladesh.

From the previous year, the Africa Affairs Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh began to explore the possibility of cultivating a large amount of fallow land in different countries of the continent.

Officials say that if the right steps are taken, countries like Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Senegal, Liberia, Ivory Coast and Guinea will also have the potential to cultivate agricultural land.

But Ambassador Golam Masih says the idea of ​​doing something officially is still in the concept stage.

"However, if the government can take a quick decision after a thorough review, it will undoubtedly open up huge opportunities and possibilities for Bangladesh," he told BBC Bangla.

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