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The vegetable varieties grown on less than one-tenth (9.38 pc) of the country's total cultivable lands can cater to one-third (32 pc) of the consumers’ daily requirements.
The information was revealed in a report presented at the National Vegetable Fair-2018 in the capital city's Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) auditorium on Sunday.
Vice-Chancellor of Patuakhali Science and Technology University Professor Dr Md Harunur Rashid came up with the appalling disclosure while presenting his keynote titled "Secured Year-long Vegetable Cultivation in the Changing Climate to Ensure Nutrition Safety and to Remove Poverty" at a seminar organised on the sideline of the three-day fair.
Each adult on an average, the report said, is getting only 60 to 70 gram of vegetables (excepting potato) every day at current rate of vegetable cultivation across the country, which is about one-third of the amount (220 gram) recommended by the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO).
He quoted the 2015 figures of Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) while saying 3.73 million tonnes of vegetables are being produced from 0.4 million hectares of land across the country.
UNB said Professor Rashid appreciated Bangladesh's advancements in cereal productions and emphasised on increasing vegetable production three times more.
He identified drought, high temperature and greenhouse effect, flood, cyclones, salinity, erratic rainfall as some of the climatic impediments in accelerating further growth in vegetable output.
Fluctuating price gap, proper planning and management are one of the major challenges for ensuring year-long cultivation of vegetable which are highly perishable in nature, he added.
This year’s national vegetable fair is aimed at promoting year-long vegetable cultivation to ensure nutrition, health and economy prosperity.
The programme was attended, among others, by Shipping Minister Shajahan Khan as the chief guest and Agriculture Minister Matia Chawdhury as the special guest.