Contract farming in Africa may create job opportunities

Contract farming in African countries may create job opportunities for Bangladeshis, according to two ministers and senior officials.

An inter-ministerial meeting was held on Tuesday at the Foreign Service Academy of the Foreign Ministry on leasing of land in African countries for contract farming by Bangladesh.

The meeting focused on identifying ways and means for establishing contract farming in African countries by Bangladeshi farmers and entrepreneurs, according to the Foreign Ministry. 

Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque and Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen co-presided over the meeting that was also attended, among others, by the executive chairman of the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, foreign secretary and BIDA, representatives of Ministry of Agriculture, Commerce and Foreign Affairs, representative of Armed Forces Division, representative of the Prime Minister’s Office and Bangladesh Bank.

At the outset of the meeting, Dr Momen remarked that by leasing land in the African countries, employment opportunities might be created for a very large number of Bangladeshi workers and farmers.

He suggested that Bangladeshi peacekeeping missions in the African countries establish contacts with local authorities for contractual farming opportunities. 

He also suggested that exchange of training programmes on agriculture be arranged with the African countries to acquaint them with Bangladesh’s advancements made in the field of agriculture. 

The agriculture minister said that since Bangladesh had a huge population, contract farming could be a viable source of the creation of employment opportunities abroad.

He mentioned that Bangladeshi farmers could be employed in the African countries for purposes of import and commercialization of the products that they would produce in those countries. 

He underlined the importance of identifying suitable countries in Africa in this regard. 

Recently, the Foreign Ministry organized inter-ministerial meetings attended by representatives from the Ministry of Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment, Ministry of Agriculture, Armed Forces Division, BIDA and Bangladesh Bank on opportunities of contract farming in Africa.

At the meeting, the representatives of the Agriculture Ministry made it known that huge potential existed in the African countries for growing food staples, fruits, vegetables and cash crops for import to Bangladesh and export to other countries. 

The Foreign Ministry official commented that there existed opportunities of crop production and import of the produced crops from the African countries back to Bangladesh as well as exporting the produced crops to other countries. Contract farming would contribute to food security for both Bangladesh and Africa.

The representative of the Armed Forces Division mentioned that there were huge opportunities of contract farming in the African countries that Bangladesh needed to explore. 

The official underscored the need for long-term planning for contract farming in Africa.  

The representatives of the Ministry of Commerce recommended that trade bodies, including FBCCI and BGMEA, be involved in government initiatives to establish contract farming in African countries.

Source: DT