BSS, Rajshahi :
Speakers said at a meeting that the women entrepreneurs need integrated cooperative agriculture market everywhere in the region for their produces to get reasonable price.
They viewed the farmers do not get fair price for their produce and middlemen are responsible for a large gap between the prices of farm products at the field level and main urban and suburban centres is quite an old one.
Though it is being widely discussed again and again the situation remains unchanged as none is coming up with an appropriate plan to benefit both the growers and the consumers.
They made these observations while opening an integrated cooperative agriculture market at Nezampur under Nachole Upazila yesterday, where the women entrepreneurs will get the privileges of selling their produces.
Nezampur Women Entrepreneurs Association and Agriculture Sustainable and Socio-Economic Development Organization (ASSEDO) jointly initiated the venture in association with Promoting Food Security and Livelihoods of Marginalized People of Barind Tract (PFLMB) Project.
Main thrust of the project is to increase food security for poorest population of severely food insecure and hard to reach areas in Barind Tract.
The programme intends to increasing agricultural production and income of marginalised and vulnerable families by adapting climate adaptive sustainable agricultural technologies, diversifying income generating activities and skill development.
From now on, the market committee will provide updated knowledge to the nearby growers on how to form cooperatives and to boost farming outputs through the best uses of modern technologies.
Nezampur UP Members Bilkish Begum, ASSEDO Executive Director Agriculturist Rabiul Alam, PFLMB Project Manager Mahbub Jaman Tapan, Market Committee President Tahera Begum and Secretary Monsur Ali, among others, spoke on the occasion.
They said there is no alternative to ensuring equal socioeconomic, political and human rights of the women like the men and their enhanced participations in every sphere of life including agriculture to bring an end to gender discriminations for developing the nation.
Besides, they said farm produces before reaching the consumers from the growers’ field do change at least four to five hands. However, the price gap between the last wholesale point and the retailers is the largest.
One can get an idea about the gap if one compares the wholesale prices of vegetables at different district and upazila headquarters level bazaar and with that of any kitchen market in Rajshahi city.
The middlemen factor is largely responsible for the gross mismatch in what the growers fetch by disposing of their produce and what the consumers pay for the same in major urban and suburban centres including Rajshahi.
They, however, said the newly launched market will help mitigating the problems in some extent, thereby, the growers will be benefited.
Speakers said at a meeting that the women entrepreneurs need integrated cooperative agriculture market everywhere in the region for their produces to get reasonable price.
They viewed the farmers do not get fair price for their produce and middlemen are responsible for a large gap between the prices of farm products at the field level and main urban and suburban centres is quite an old one.
Though it is being widely discussed again and again the situation remains unchanged as none is coming up with an appropriate plan to benefit both the growers and the consumers.
They made these observations while opening an integrated cooperative agriculture market at Nezampur under Nachole Upazila yesterday, where the women entrepreneurs will get the privileges of selling their produces.
Nezampur Women Entrepreneurs Association and Agriculture Sustainable and Socio-Economic Development Organization (ASSEDO) jointly initiated the venture in association with Promoting Food Security and Livelihoods of Marginalized People of Barind Tract (PFLMB) Project.
Main thrust of the project is to increase food security for poorest population of severely food insecure and hard to reach areas in Barind Tract.
The programme intends to increasing agricultural production and income of marginalised and vulnerable families by adapting climate adaptive sustainable agricultural technologies, diversifying income generating activities and skill development.
From now on, the market committee will provide updated knowledge to the nearby growers on how to form cooperatives and to boost farming outputs through the best uses of modern technologies.
Nezampur UP Members Bilkish Begum, ASSEDO Executive Director Agriculturist Rabiul Alam, PFLMB Project Manager Mahbub Jaman Tapan, Market Committee President Tahera Begum and Secretary Monsur Ali, among others, spoke on the occasion.
They said there is no alternative to ensuring equal socioeconomic, political and human rights of the women like the men and their enhanced participations in every sphere of life including agriculture to bring an end to gender discriminations for developing the nation.
Besides, they said farm produces before reaching the consumers from the growers’ field do change at least four to five hands. However, the price gap between the last wholesale point and the retailers is the largest.
One can get an idea about the gap if one compares the wholesale prices of vegetables at different district and upazila headquarters level bazaar and with that of any kitchen market in Rajshahi city.
The middlemen factor is largely responsible for the gross mismatch in what the growers fetch by disposing of their produce and what the consumers pay for the same in major urban and suburban centres including Rajshahi.
They, however, said the newly launched market will help mitigating the problems in some extent, thereby, the growers will be benefited.
