Rising vegetable output, lack of storage hit Sylhet farmers

Vegetable production is rising steadily in Sylhet, but inadequate of cold storage and modern preservation facilities farmers are forced to sell their produce cheaply or suffer losses from spoilage due to the lack.

Favorable weather and the use of modern agricultural technology, record quantities of vegetables are being produced in Sylhet each season. However, a significant portion of the produce goes to waste through rotting because there are insufficient cold storage facilities in either the public or private sectors.

There are no large-scale government-run cold storage facilities in the region for preserving potatoes or other common vegetables.

Although a few privately owned cold storage units exist, they are primarily used for potatoes. There is virtually no specialized “multipurpose cold storage” facility capable of preserving perishable items such as tomatoes, bottle gourds and leafy greens.

Lacking storage options, farmers are often forced to sell their produce at low prices immediately after bringing it to market. Middlemen and wholesalers take advantage of the situation to purchase vegetables at nominal rates.

Despite good yields at the beginning of the season, the lack of storage forces farmers to sell at rock-bottom prices.

Often, they cannot even recover their production costs, leaving them burdened with debt. Gautam Pal, South Surma Upazila Agriculture Officer, said establishing mini cold storage facilities is essential for improving farmers’ financial stability and facilitating the preservation and export of agricultural products.

He emphasised that preservation is particularly crucial for introducing Sylhet’s famous “Goalgadda” beans to international markets. He called upon the authorities to step forward and establish a mini cold storage facility to make this lucrative crop more accessible and aligned with market demand.

Raihan Parvez Roni, Gowainghat Upazila Agriculture Officer, said establishing a mini cold storage facility in Gowainghat is a timely initiative aimed at modernising grassroots-level agriculture and ensuring fair prices for crops produced by farmers.

The establishment of the mini cold storage facility will enable farmers in Jaynagar and surrounding areas to prevent their perishable vegetables and fruits from spoiling. This will allow them to sell their produce at the right time based on market prices, ensuring they receive fair returns for their crops.

The facility is expected to alleviate the long-standing difficulties faced by local farmers in storing their produce and serve as a milestone in ensuring that their hard work is properly rewarded.

Md. Shamsuzzaman Zaman, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Sylhet, said the government is committed to the welfare of farmers.

He said work is already underway to set up a mini cold storage facility in Gowainghat to preserve vegetables grown in Sylhet and that it is the region’s first such pilot project. He added that similar mini cold storage facilities would be established in other upazilas in response to demands from local farmers.

Julia Jesmin Mili, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Marketing, Sylhet, said establishing cold storage facilities is crucial for the proper preservation of agricultural produce in Sylhet.

She said the government has initiated the construction of packaging houses to facilitate the export of agricultural products abroad. She emphasised that there is no alternative to establishing mini cold storage facilities to further accelerate this initiative and urged the concerned authorities to give the matter due attention.

According to locals, the production of various vegetables is increasing day by day across different parts of Sylhet. Farmers in Gowainghat, Companiganj, Jaintiapur, Kanaighat and South Surma upazilas are particularly engaged in cultivating a wide range of winter and summer vegetables.

However, as storage infrastructure is inadequate relative to production, farmers are compelled to sell their produce at low prices during the season. In many instances, the vegetables spoil before they can even be marketed.

Farmers complain that during the peak production season, a massive volume of produce reaches the market simultaneously, causing supply to surge and prices to fall. Without storage options, they are forced to sell at these low rates, making it difficult even to cover production costs.

Conversely, even when the price of the same vegetable rises toward the end of the season, farmers are unable to benefit from the higher prices. Farmers in South Surma report that despite an increase in arable land and vegetable production in the region, there is a lack of adequate modern facilities for preserving the produce.

Farmers suggest that the situation could improve significantly if small-scale “mini cold storage” units were established in remote, agriculture-dominated areas. If vegetables could be stored for a few days rather than sold immediately after harvest, farmers could assess market conditions before selling. This would help reduce post-harvest losses while increasing farmers’ incomes.

An initiative to establish mini cold storage units nationwide is underway under the Department of Agricultural Extension’s climate-resilient agriculture project. As part of this effort, work on a mini cold storage unit in Gowainghat is progressing, which is expected to bring substantial benefits to local farmers.

According to farmers, merely constructing cold storage facilities is not enough; effective management, a reliable electricity supply, affordable storage costs and an efficient marketing system for the produce must also be ensured. Furthermore, if these facilities could be managed through farmers’ cooperatives or local agricultural organizations, the benefits could reach a wider range of farmers.

Agricultural experts consider storage facilities a crucial component of the agricultural production system. Without ensuring proper post-harvest management alongside increased production, it is difficult for farmers to achieve the desired economic returns.

In the case of perishable vegetables, in particular, rapid storage and marketing systems can help minimize waste while maintaining a balanced market supply.

Saidur Rahman, a Presidential Award-winning farmer from South Surma, said he has been producing vermicompost fertilizer and various agricultural products, including mushrooms, across the Sylhet region for the past 40 years.

Throughout this period, he has consistently advocated for the establishment of a mini cold storage facility to preserve the vegetables and tissue-culture mushrooms he produces. However, his request has yet to materialize.

He said he even contacted the director of the mini cold storage establishment project but failed to receive a satisfactory response.

He urged the relevant authorities to give due consideration to establishing a mini cold storage facility to preserve his produce as well as the agricultural products of other local farmers.

Farmers hope that developing storage infrastructure alongside increasing agricultural production will unlock new possibilities for Sylhet’s agricultural economy.

They say it is essential to ensure the preservation of harvested crops rather than focusing solely on increasing field production. Only then will farmers receive fair prices and be encouraged to produce more vegetables.