All the companies or entities that produce seed potatoes for commercial purposes will have to obtain tissue culture laboratory registration from this year (2024).
It has been made mandatory aiming to ensure the quality of potato seeds for desired germination and produce exportable potatoes on a large scale, said officials.
Without such registration, private entities will not be allowed to produce certified seed potatoes, said a senior official of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA).
According to the MoA, Bangladesh cannot enter the markets of many countries, including Russia, due to diseases. So, the production of different varieties of disease-free quality potatoes has become necessary for the country.
This is why the labs of those who are growing potato seeds will be brought under the registration system and necessary monitoring will be carried out on the labs.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the tissue culture laboratory evaluation committee held at the ministry last month with Director (tuber crop) of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) Sohela Akhter in the chair.
During the production season, there is a demand for 7.5 lakh tonnes of various varieties of potato seeds in the country. Out of the total, 8-10 thousand tonnes are imported by government and private sectors. The rest of the seed demand is met from formal and informal sources.
Officials concerned say that potato seeds are bought directly either from formal sources i.e. different companies or informal sources i.e. the farmers who save seeds themselves.
Md. Abir Hossain, Additional General Manager (CDP Crops) Potato Seeds Division, BADC said the demand for potato seeds is increasing day by day. “So, our capacity is also increasing.”
During the last season, BADC produced 38,000 tonnes of potato seeds, but this season seed production has increased by 4,000 tonnes. Out of the total, 143 tonnes have been imported to supply better quality seeds, he added.
Producing seeds at random has the possibility of developing disease in the seeds. Therefore, the government plans to monitor the quality of potato seeds through registration.
An official of BARI said many big seed producing companies and organisations, including ACI and BRAC, have already applied to them for tissue culture. “In view of the application, the evaluation committee will visit the tissue culture lab related to seed potato production very soon and will take initiative to register the companies.”
He also said as this registration has been made mandatory, the tissue culture laboratory evaluation committee will visit the labs at least two times---at the beginning and end of the potato season every year.
An office order will be issued to register all seed potato producing tissue culture laboratories, he added.
He further said that the meeting suggested incorporating a provision of registration of tissue culture laboratories in Seed Act-2018. If the provision is incorporated in Seed Act-2018, the quality of seeds produced through tissue culture will increase, he opined.
When contacted, Dr Akhter said, "We have taken the initiative to make the registration mandatory from next year (2024). This is being done to produce virus-free seed potatoes and ensure the quality seed at farmers’ level."
She said the use of quality seeds especially disease-free seed potatoes play an important role in boosting potato yield.
It will also reduce the country’s dependence on imports and increase the production of disease-free quality seed potatoes through tissue culture, she said.
Managing Director of Hortex Foundation Dr Syed Md Rafiqul Amin said potato is considered the third staple in the country after rice and wheat.
The role of potato in meeting the food shortage and eliminating malnutrition of the growing population of the country is undeniable, he said.
The country's potato has now a vast global market as 80,000 to 100,000 tonnes of potato are being exported annually, he said, adding, "Improving the quality could help us increase exports multiply."
The managing director said the farmers need 0.75-0.8 million tonnes of seed potatoes per annum of which the private sector is now dominating less than 30 per cent.
Farmers preserve a large amount of potato which should be taken into consideration, he added.
Bangladesh produces 10 million tonnes of potatoes annually from 0.46 million hectares of land, making it the seventh-largest potato producer in the world.
