Bangladesh to pilot free jute school bags for 99,000 primary pupils

The pilot links classroom supplies with Bangladesh’s jute sector, as officials cite support for small producers, farmers and entrepreneurs amid seed dependence and retting-water shortages.

Bangladesh will provide free jute school bags to students at one selected primary school in each sub-district under a pilot project, State Minister for Textiles and Jute Md Shariful Alam has said.

If the initiative succeeds, the government plans to distribute jute bags to students at all primary schools across the country, he said.

The programme to provide environment-friendly jute school bags to students was taken up on the instructions of Prime Minister Tareque Rahman, the state minister told reporters on Monday afternoon after inspecting bag production activities at Jute Fiber BD in Jhainabari, Savar, outside the capital Dhaka.

During the visit, he toured the production activities for the jute school bags being made under the pilot project.

Shariful Alam said one primary school had been selected from each of the country’s 495 sub-districts. With an average of 200 students considered for each school, 99,000 students will receive jute school bags in the pilot phase.

He said 54 small entrepreneurs had been selected to produce the bags, which will be procured through JDPC PLC.

Asked by reporters about steps to increase exports from the jute industry, the state minister said Bangladesh has to import the jute seeds it needs.

The Ministry of Textiles and Jute and the Ministry of Agriculture are working together to achieve self-sufficiency in jute seeds, he said. Training and loans for jute farmers, along with training and support for entrepreneurs producing jute goods, are also continuing.

The state minister said many rivers, canals and waterways across the country had been filled up, causing a shortage of the water needed for retting jute. As a result, farmers are unable to ret jute on time, which is having a negative impact on the quality and production of jute, he said.

To address the problem, canal excavation work has already started on the initiative of Prime Minister Tareque Rahman, he added.

“The government is working in a coordinated way to protect jute farmers and the jute industry,” Shariful Alam said.

Textiles and Jute Secretary Sharaf Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury and senior ministry officials were present during the visit.