BSS, Rajshahi :
Prospect of long-term preservation of vegetables and some other seasonal fruits and green spices like garlic and green chili is very bright through natural cold storage.
The Natural cold storage first time in Bangladesh, Rajshahi has undertaken another Taka 20-lakh new research project this season in order to preserve tomato, carrot, mango and some other fruits side by side with the leafy vegetables for three to six months without using any chemicals.
An environment-friendly cold storage with 300 metric tonnes capacity was opened in Rajshahi city in December last year at a cost of around Taka 14 lakh.
Prof Dr Monzur Hossain, the project director of the natural cold storage and Professor of Department of Botany in Rajshahi University, said the cold storage has been designed to facilitate the grassroots level farmers in Bangladesh.
No electricity is required to run this cold storage. Instead the natural storage will preserve the agricultural produce through the process of vaporisation.
To help the farmers preserve perishable items such as potato, tomato, onion, and ginger at cheaper rates, the natural cold storage which uses green technology has been set up at Namo Bhadra area in Rajshahi city.
The facility was set up by using local ingredients. As this was the first ever such facility in Bangladesh ‘we were required to conduct extensive experiments to find its effectiveness as well as limitations,’ says Prof Monzur Hossain illustrating salient features of the venture.
The 60 feet long and 30 feet wide rectangular storage is made of bricks, cement, bamboo, and shaan that can house 300 tons of produce.
The vital part of the storage is the two parallel walls. The inner wall is made of brick and cement and the outer wall is constructed with concrete blocks and bricks. The gap between the two walls is three inches that is filled with sand.
To allow sunlight inside the storage, there are two windows made of glass in the upper part of the storage.
Four solar panels of 110 watt have also been set up to generate electricity to light the storage.
During the experiment period from December 2014 till July 2015, potato, onion, ginger, carrot, tomato, mango and other vegetables were kept in the cold storage. ‘We have found good results in regard to potato, onion and ginger preservation. Potatoes and onions were preserved till four months,’ says Hossain. ‘But we did not find similar results for carrot, tomato and vegetables,’ he adds.
During the experiment period, we were successful to keep the temperature inside the storage within 26 degrees centigrade which is convenient for keeping potatoes and onions cool, Hossain says. ‘But we need to keep the temperature within 16 degrees. Hence, we are now planning to set up another small storage beside it to experiment on other vegetables and fruits.’
To store a sack of potato weighing 80 kilogrammes in a traditional storage costs Tk 350. In this alternative storage facility, a farmer can store the same amount by spending Tk 100, thus saving 250 takas per sack.
There are many remote areas in Bangladesh where facilities of traditional cold storage are unavailable. Moreover, during natural calamities or political instabilities farmers cannot sell their produce timely leading them to incur huge loss.
This natural cold storage will be of great help for the farmers to store their produce at cheaper rates during such undesirable situations, Prof Hossain hopes.
Prospect of long-term preservation of vegetables and some other seasonal fruits and green spices like garlic and green chili is very bright through natural cold storage.
The Natural cold storage first time in Bangladesh, Rajshahi has undertaken another Taka 20-lakh new research project this season in order to preserve tomato, carrot, mango and some other fruits side by side with the leafy vegetables for three to six months without using any chemicals.
An environment-friendly cold storage with 300 metric tonnes capacity was opened in Rajshahi city in December last year at a cost of around Taka 14 lakh.
Prof Dr Monzur Hossain, the project director of the natural cold storage and Professor of Department of Botany in Rajshahi University, said the cold storage has been designed to facilitate the grassroots level farmers in Bangladesh.
No electricity is required to run this cold storage. Instead the natural storage will preserve the agricultural produce through the process of vaporisation.
To help the farmers preserve perishable items such as potato, tomato, onion, and ginger at cheaper rates, the natural cold storage which uses green technology has been set up at Namo Bhadra area in Rajshahi city.
The facility was set up by using local ingredients. As this was the first ever such facility in Bangladesh ‘we were required to conduct extensive experiments to find its effectiveness as well as limitations,’ says Prof Monzur Hossain illustrating salient features of the venture.
The 60 feet long and 30 feet wide rectangular storage is made of bricks, cement, bamboo, and shaan that can house 300 tons of produce.
The vital part of the storage is the two parallel walls. The inner wall is made of brick and cement and the outer wall is constructed with concrete blocks and bricks. The gap between the two walls is three inches that is filled with sand.
To allow sunlight inside the storage, there are two windows made of glass in the upper part of the storage.
Four solar panels of 110 watt have also been set up to generate electricity to light the storage.
During the experiment period from December 2014 till July 2015, potato, onion, ginger, carrot, tomato, mango and other vegetables were kept in the cold storage. ‘We have found good results in regard to potato, onion and ginger preservation. Potatoes and onions were preserved till four months,’ says Hossain. ‘But we did not find similar results for carrot, tomato and vegetables,’ he adds.
During the experiment period, we were successful to keep the temperature inside the storage within 26 degrees centigrade which is convenient for keeping potatoes and onions cool, Hossain says. ‘But we need to keep the temperature within 16 degrees. Hence, we are now planning to set up another small storage beside it to experiment on other vegetables and fruits.’
To store a sack of potato weighing 80 kilogrammes in a traditional storage costs Tk 350. In this alternative storage facility, a farmer can store the same amount by spending Tk 100, thus saving 250 takas per sack.
There are many remote areas in Bangladesh where facilities of traditional cold storage are unavailable. Moreover, during natural calamities or political instabilities farmers cannot sell their produce timely leading them to incur huge loss.
This natural cold storage will be of great help for the farmers to store their produce at cheaper rates during such undesirable situations, Prof Hossain hopes.
