Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon inaugurates free hybrid solar-operated mini cold storage facilities for farmers in Kachua. Photo : BSS

CHANDPUR, Aug 7, 2026 (BSS) – Education Minister Dr ANM Ehsanul Hoque Milon today said farmers will no longer have to sell their crops at low prices at the end of the harvesting season, as opportunities will be created for them to store their produce in cold storage and sell it at a convenient time according to market conditions.

He said the initiative would ensure fair prices for farmers’ produce, increase storage capacity and make agriculture more profitable.

Milon, lawmaker from Chandpur-1, made the remarks as the chief guest at a ceremony at Sachar in Kachua upazila here to distribute and inaugurate free hybrid solar-operated mini cold storage facilities under the agricultural rehabilitation assistance programme.

Describing the initiative, implemented under a government pilot project, as a new horizon for agricultural development in Kachua, the minister said Kachua is one of the country’s major potato-producing areas.

Besides, various agricultural products are produced in the area during the Rabi season, he said. 

To address the longstanding shortage of storage facilities for farmers’ produce, the government has installed these mini cold storage units on a pilot basis, he added.

He said genuine farmers would be able to store potatoes, seeds, eggs and various other agricultural products in these cold storage facilities. 

As a result, he said, farmers would no longer have to sell their crops at low prices at the end of the season. 

They would be able to store their produce as needed and sell it at a convenient time, which would increase their income and strengthen the agricultural economy, said the minister.

“We want to establish a socially developed and discrimination-free society. People can now feel the difference between the past and the present. Traders are now able to conduct their businesses safely, and no one is subjecting them to unnecessary harassment,” he said.

Criticizing the previous fascist Awami League government, Milon said, “I am a son of Kachua. I witnessed with my own eyes how people were persecuted during the Awami League’s misrule.”

He said no one could speak out at Sachar Bazar because of the fascist regime. The government dak bungalow in the area had also once turned into a gathering place for drug addicts, he said.

Referring to the July mass uprising, he said, “We must not forget the brutal killings during July. We have to take lessons from the nightmares of the past and build a better future. We must move the country forward with an understanding of where we were, where we have come and where we want to go.”

Kachua Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mahmudul Hasan Russell chaired the programme while local government officials concerned, leaders and activists of the ruling BNP and its associate bodies were present.

At the event, hybrid solar-operated mini cold storage facilities were distributed among farmers and their formal inauguration was announced.