Mauritania welcomes Bangladesh’s contract farming proposal

West African country Mauritania has welcomed Bangladesh’s proposal for contract farming aimed at opening up the country’s cultivable land to Bangladeshi entrepreneurs and businessmen.

During his recent visit to Mauritania’s capital Nouakchott, the non-resident Ambassador of Bangladesh, Mohammad Zulkarnain, put forward the proposal during a bilateral meeting with Mauritania’s Minister of Agriculture, Yahya Ould Ahmed El Wagh.

The minister in response expressed his hope to work with Bangladesh to address food security.

“An initiative taken by Mauritania to give up the vast cultivable land in the country’s southern region to the private sector by April this year will create potential opportunities for Bangladeshi businessmen and entrepreneurs,” Yahya Ould Ahmed said.

He laid special emphasis on the application of the latest technology, saying that it will pave the way for the implementation of commercial agricultural activities instead of extracting the existing natural agricultural resources in Mauritania.

The Bangladeshi ambassador, courtesy of Mauritanian Investment Promotion Agency, also visited the vast plains of Rosso and Buga in Mauritania’s southern region, where the contract farming opportunities will arise.   

The region offers prospects and opportunities for raising livestock, as well as cultivating various crops including wheat, paddy, and watermelon. A Saudi Arabian company is already producing onions, garlic, and watermelon in the region and exporting those to Europe.

The Mauritanian agriculture minister also conveyed his congratulations to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her leadership in the overall development of Bangladesh, reports UNB.