5/27/2015

Financial Express :: Financial Newspaper of Bangladesh

Monday, 29 July 2013

Tapping farming potentials in the Hill Tracts

Ginger cultivation in the Chittagong Hill Tracts

Rahman Jahangir
The Chittagong Hill Tracts comprising three south-eastern hill districts of Khagrachhari, Bandarban and Rangamati,
having captivating scenic beauty, also offers great potentials for lucrative farming of fruits and vegetables. But sadly,
no government has yet drawn up a comprehensive plan or programme, involving the hard-working tribal people of 11
ethnic groups and the settlers, to tap the huge potentials in a sustainable manner.
The lands lying along hills and creeks need special cultivation methods in order to protect the special features of the
rugged

but resource-rich

region. Concerns

have

already been

raised

over accelerated

deforestation

and

unsustainable agricultural practices, including monoculture of tobacco, ginger, aroids, turmeric, and other root crops.
These activities have contributed to soil erosion and land degradation.
The Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) covers an area of 13,295 square kilometres of Himalayan range hills and hillocks
measuring one tenth of Bangladesh. As a document of the Chittagong Hill Tracts Development Board (CHTDB)
describes: "The vast hilly tracts with net works of challenging tracts, high hills soaring above the horizon with
panoramic views, valleys with luxuriant crops and creepers and thick forest containing timber trees, bamboos, canes
and shans (a kind of grass), through which meandering rivers and rivulets flow throughout the year, serene lakes,
scenic beauty of the landscape having spots for painting and background of motion pictures, the wilderness, the
wildlife that includes monkey, elephant, fox, jungle cat, fishing cat, wild boar, hedge hogs, rabbits, land turtle, king
cobra, reticulated python, rattle snake and other non-poisonous snakes together with large number of species of
lizards and amphibians like frog and toad, and tree frogs ,more than sixty families of birds - all are there to see and
enjoy." The CHT has a low population density, 100 people per sq km., compared to the high national average of 800.
The population of currently estimated at 1.4 million is 1.1 per cent of the country's total. Out of total population, 35-40
per cent lives in municipalities and small towns, 35-40 per cent occupies sedentary valley farms, and 20-30 per cent is
living in the hills, occupied in semi-sedentary shifting cultivation.
The hilly lands offer great potentials for farming of vegetables and fruits, not available elsewhere. Farmers count
losses every year in the CHT, as they often are compelled to sell off their produced crops and fruits at prices lower
than production costs due to preservation constraints and poor infrastructure in the region. Many growers, who have
been denied fair prices of their produces for long, say they now take least interest in producing seasonal crops and
fruits, which leads to the rise in joblessness in the three hill districts.

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Financial Express :: Financial Newspaper of Bangladesh

Sometimes they sell their produces at lower prices fearing that those might get rotten, and also because of lack of
transportation facilities. A huge quantity of fruits perishes because there is no cold storage or fruit processing centre
in the area. Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension say that some farmers, who are directly or indirectly
involved with personal or government-owned forests or orchards, become self-reliant, while many suffer losses, as
their farm products perish because of preservation constraints.
The production of crops and fruits such as ginger, turmeric, sugarcane, pineapple, mango, and papaya was plenty last
year in 25 hilly upazilas in the CHT districts of Khagrachhari, Rangamati and Bandarban. But then the bumper harvests
have failed to improve the living conditions of the hilly people.
It is against this background that the Bangladesh Bank (BB) should formulate a well-thought-out plan to provide
potential entrepreneurs with adequate financial assistance for setting up agro-processing industry in the Chittagong
Hill Tracts. This will benefit the farmers who produce large amount of fruits, vegetables and other perishable goods
every year. As the region is still backward, the authorities, including the BB, should take steps to attract potential
entrepreneurs.
Hundreds of farmers in the three hill districts produce plenty of pineapple, orange, banana, papaya, jackfruit and
mango every year, but do not get fair prices of the perishable produces only because of lack of proper marketing
facilities. Apart from these fruits and vegetable, a large number of farmers in the area are now producing some major
spices including ginger and turmeric, which are meeting around one-forth of local demands.
The farmers in the CHT region believe that they would get proper prices of their produces with development of agroprocessing industry and proper marketing chain. Besides the agro-processing industry, the authorities should help
develop a proper marketing chain so farmers can sell their produces at fair prices. Special financial assistance could
also be provided to develop a transportation system for the goods, produced in the hill districts. The central bank
could finance women entrepreneurs to develop tribal handloom, handicrafts and boutique hotels in the hill districts,
which would eventually help promote tourism.
arjayster@gmail.com
C opyright 2012
Inte rnational Publications Lim ite d.
All rights re se rve d

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