Importance of sweet crop to build a hunger free country in Bangladesh

The first and foremost goal of achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 is to build a world free of hunger. To build a world free of hunger, we need to build a country free of hunger. The first pledge to build a hunger-free country was made by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. As a result, he tried to streamline agriculture. Along with various agro-based organizations, he laid the foundation of the country's sweet crop. This is because all plant sources of sweet fruit can withstand natural disasters. On the other hand, sweet crops are all more nutritious. As a result, the sweet crop will be the most important to meet all the challenges of the future and produce more nutritious food on less land.

Sugarcane is the most popular sweet crop in Bangladesh. Sugarcane is the juice, molasses, sugar. Besides sugarcane, there are palms, dates, golpata, stevia, sugar beet, honey, licorice etc. From palm comes juice, molasses, palm candy etc. Juice and molasses are also made from dates and golpata. Sugar beets are used to make molasses, sugar, fish meal, cattle feed etc. The nutritional and medicinal properties of stevia, licorice and honey are well known. And the big thing is that along with these foods, different types of food industries based on those crops can be developed. It also has the potential to alleviate poverty. In addition to these, various nutritious foods of palm as well as palm trees protect from the danger of lightning. Among the crops discussed here, sugarcane is the most popular and the most hostile to the environment. However, palm and date palms can also tolerate adverse environments. Golpata trees are where no other crops are grown. That is, in tidal saline areas. Therefore, more emphasis has been laid on sugarcane-centric discussions.

Now let’s see, who, where and how can produce more nutritious food and make more profit through sweet crop cultivation.

1. The role of sugarcane cultivation in meeting the income and nutritional needs of the very poor families. Families who make a living on a daily wage who have no cultivable land other than their homestead. The head of the family goes out in the morning in search of work and provides rice and pulses to all the members of the family with the wages received in return for the work. It is very difficult for him to buy 1 cane for his children with 30 / - rupees. If the person plants 100 chewing sugarcane seedlings in the vicinity of his homestead at the right time and in the right manner and the family members take proper care of them, it is possible to get at least 600 healthy strong sugarcane from 100 seedlings planted, which can be sold at minimum market price of Rs. 15,000 / -. Possible. And the care that is needed for this can only be done by the women of the house. In other words, the owner of the house does not have to worry about earning 1000 rupees per month. Or they can earn money by selling some of the 600 canes and feed the rest to the children to meet their nutritional needs.

1. Earning a lot more by cultivating sugarcane on a small plot of land. The market price varies from Rs 20 to Rs 60 depending on the area. Although the price of each sugarcane is relatively low in the northern part of the country, the price and demand is very high in the central, southern and hilly areas. One bigha of land can be planted with 3,000 chewed sugarcane seedlings. (In this case, the distance from line to line will be 1 meter and the distance from tree to tree will be 45 cm.) By planting it at the right time, in the right way, it is possible to get at least 5 kushis per tree through proper care. In this case 1 mother plant and 5 kushi i.e. 6 sugarcane can be found per bush. So 3000x7 = 18000 cane can be found in 3000 bushes) so it is possible to produce 16000 healthy and strong cane. Even if it is sold at the lowest market price (Rs. 18,000x10 = Rs. 1,60,000), it will fetch Rs. 1,60,000 / - which will cost around Rs. 25,000 to Rs. In other words, the net profit is 1,50,000 rupees. It went to sugarcane. In addition to sugarcane, by cultivating companion crops in that land, the net profit will be around Rs. 10,000-15,000. With this money the farmer will be able to meet the cost of sugarcane cultivation. Although it is said that sugarcane stays in the field for 12-14 months, 10-12 months is enough for its maturity. In addition, if the sugarcane is chewed, it is suitable for sale in 6-7 months. Using so little land like one bigha, it is possible to cultivate sugarcane and companion crops only with the right variety and technology and bring in so much income only through sugarcane cultivation. That is why it is possible to cultivate sugarcane properly by using the right variety and technology as well as to provide employment to the unemployed youth through higher income and thus it is possible to contribute the most in poverty alleviation by meeting the nutritional needs of the poverty prone areas of the country.