Bangladesh Defense
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Date of Event:
Jun 22, 2025
Popularising local fruits
Atiqul Kabir Tuhin
Published :
Jun 22, 2025 01:07
Updated :
Jun 22, 2025 01:07
Many of the fruits and vegetables grown locally are a storehouse of rich vitamins but largely wasted. Unfortunately many are not aware of it. This is largely due to a lack of awareness and insufficient publicity of their benefits among the public. As most of these local fruits are comparatively inexpensive they also hold the key to raising the nutritional intake of the low-income people. This is a well-known fact and it was once again brought to light at the recently held three-day national fruit festival.
With the theme "Let's eat more local fruits, let's plant fruit trees," the event, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, sought to raise public awareness about the health, environmental, and economic advantages of consuming indigenous fruits. Speaking at the fruit festival, Agriculture and Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury aptly remarked that local fruits often surpass imported varieties in both taste and nutritional value. He urged all to make homegrown produce a staple of their diets to support local farmers as well as reduce dependence on foreign imports and conserve much-needed foreign exchange.
Bangladesh can boast of producing as many as 72 varieties of fruits and ranks among the world's top producers of mangoes, jackfruit, and guavas. Yet, the country still imports around 60 per cent of its total fruit demand, incurring an annual cost of approximately $300 million. To reduce import dependency and ensure the nutritional security of the population, there is a pressing need to popularise local fruits, as a significant portion of their total production goes to waste due to low consumer demand and inadequate preservation facilities.
The value given to imported fruits like apple arises from our habit of giving undue importance to anything foreign. It is the colonial rulers who brought in their own foods, fruits, and cultural practices and popularised them. Unfortunately, a lingering colonial mindset leads many to consider imported fruits superior to native ones. As a result, imported fruits dominate the market year-round. Although the arrival of mango in summer somewhat tips the balance in favour of local fruits for a certain period, most of the other indigenous fruits receive little to no attention from consumers. So, a change in mindset will go a long way.
Nutritionally the local fruits like amloki, kamranga (star fruit), bel (wood apple) and papaya, are richer than foreign fruits. Likewise, green coconut water is far healthier than sugary carbonated drinks. Unfortunately, in the present generation love of fast food and soft drink has been growing. Guests are entertained not with the traditional lemon juice but with one of those ubiquitous well-advertised and well-marketed corporate products like bottled drinks known by various brand names, which are often devoid of any health benefits, if not outright unhealthy.
Health experts have long warned that excessive consumption of fast food contributes to obesity, diabetes, and other lifestyle diseases. In many Western countries where such food trends originated, there is now a growing rejection of these items by catagorising them as "junk food." In contrast, in Bangladesh, fast food continues to gain ground, largely unchallenged. The common people should be steered away from such unhygienic food practices through persuasion and creation of awareness, as that is the only way to do so in a society where freedom of choice and freedom of trade are guaranteed. Besides, the authorities need to encourage the production of local fruits as much as possible. Incentives should be provided in establishing fruit orchards by extending financial and policy support, and ensure adequate storage and marketing facilities. Growers should also be trained in modern marketing techniques.
Atiqul Kabir Tuhin
Published :
Jun 22, 2025 01:07
Updated :
Jun 22, 2025 01:07
Many of the fruits and vegetables grown locally are a storehouse of rich vitamins but largely wasted. Unfortunately many are not aware of it. This is largely due to a lack of awareness and insufficient publicity of their benefits among the public. As most of these local fruits are comparatively inexpensive they also hold the key to raising the nutritional intake of the low-income people. This is a well-known fact and it was once again brought to light at the recently held three-day national fruit festival.
With the theme "Let's eat more local fruits, let's plant fruit trees," the event, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture, sought to raise public awareness about the health, environmental, and economic advantages of consuming indigenous fruits. Speaking at the fruit festival, Agriculture and Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury aptly remarked that local fruits often surpass imported varieties in both taste and nutritional value. He urged all to make homegrown produce a staple of their diets to support local farmers as well as reduce dependence on foreign imports and conserve much-needed foreign exchange.
Bangladesh can boast of producing as many as 72 varieties of fruits and ranks among the world's top producers of mangoes, jackfruit, and guavas. Yet, the country still imports around 60 per cent of its total fruit demand, incurring an annual cost of approximately $300 million. To reduce import dependency and ensure the nutritional security of the population, there is a pressing need to popularise local fruits, as a significant portion of their total production goes to waste due to low consumer demand and inadequate preservation facilities.
The value given to imported fruits like apple arises from our habit of giving undue importance to anything foreign. It is the colonial rulers who brought in their own foods, fruits, and cultural practices and popularised them. Unfortunately, a lingering colonial mindset leads many to consider imported fruits superior to native ones. As a result, imported fruits dominate the market year-round. Although the arrival of mango in summer somewhat tips the balance in favour of local fruits for a certain period, most of the other indigenous fruits receive little to no attention from consumers. So, a change in mindset will go a long way.
Nutritionally the local fruits like amloki, kamranga (star fruit), bel (wood apple) and papaya, are richer than foreign fruits. Likewise, green coconut water is far healthier than sugary carbonated drinks. Unfortunately, in the present generation love of fast food and soft drink has been growing. Guests are entertained not with the traditional lemon juice but with one of those ubiquitous well-advertised and well-marketed corporate products like bottled drinks known by various brand names, which are often devoid of any health benefits, if not outright unhealthy.
Health experts have long warned that excessive consumption of fast food contributes to obesity, diabetes, and other lifestyle diseases. In many Western countries where such food trends originated, there is now a growing rejection of these items by catagorising them as "junk food." In contrast, in Bangladesh, fast food continues to gain ground, largely unchallenged. The common people should be steered away from such unhygienic food practices through persuasion and creation of awareness, as that is the only way to do so in a society where freedom of choice and freedom of trade are guaranteed. Besides, the authorities need to encourage the production of local fruits as much as possible. Incentives should be provided in establishing fruit orchards by extending financial and policy support, and ensure adequate storage and marketing facilities. Growers should also be trained in modern marketing techniques.
