BUS 301:

ENTREPRENEURSHI
P DEVELOPMENT

ANALYSIS OF THE
EMERGING
AGRICULTURAL
PRODUCTS IN
BANGLADESH
Product I worked on is
“Capsicum”
Introduction:
As the part mid-term assessment for BUS-301: Entrepreneurship Development we have given an
assignment on analysis of emerging agricultural products in Bangladesh. For this assignment I
have searched the internet for information about few products, as Bangladesh is having
lockdown for covid-19 pandemic, it’s very difficult to go to the market and collect information.
After evaluating some of the products, I have selected Capsicum as my assignment topic. In this
assignment I will discuss about the origin of capsicum, in which part of the country first
harvested capsicum commercially, the reason of capsicum becoming more and more popular,
impact of capsicum on Bangladesh GPD.

Origin of Capsicum & Capsicum in Bangladesh:

Capsicum is a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the
Central and South America, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit. Ideal
growing conditions for capsicum include a sunny position with warm, loamy soil, ideally 21 °C
to 29 °C, that is moist but not waterlogged. Extremely moist soils can cause seedlings to damp-
off and reduce germination. The plants will tolerate temperatures down to 12 °C and they are
sensitive to cold. For flowering, Capsicum is a non-photoperiod-sensitive crop. The flowers can

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self-pollinate. However, at extremely high temperature, 33 °C to 38 °C, pollen loses viability,
and flowers are much less likely to pollinate successfully.

In Bangladesh, farmer Nazim Uddin has cultivated capsicum on a commercial basis for the first
time at Rupsha upazila in Khulna district. The yield has been good, as well as taste. Numerous
farmers and curious people of the area came to see the field every day when it started. Nazim
Uddin's capsicum garden can be seen in the Kajdia village under TSB union of Rupsha upazila in
Khulna. Hundreds of red, yellow, purple and green capsicums are hanging under a specialized
shed. Capsicum of various colors is peeking out from the leaves of the green trees in the garden.
He is also experimentally cultivating squash on his land.

Farmer Nazim Uddin, a resident of Naihati Union in the same upazila, said, "I used to work in a
private company. I was fired from my job during the covid pandemics. Then after watching the
video from YouTube, I became interested in cultivating this uncommon vegetable capsicum.
Then I took 22 decimals of land from TSB Union on lease and started cultivating capsicum on
my own initiative with the advice of Upazila Agriculture Office.

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Rupsha Upazila Agriculture Officer Md. Fariduzzaman said capsicum is a new and high-value
crop in the area. Capsicum is in great demand in the market as it is a vegetable rich in vitamin-A.

Impact of Capsicum on Bangladesh GDP:

Though capsicum originated in central and middle America, the vegetable is now being farmed
in different areas of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, the first commercial cultivation of capsicum
happened in Khulna district, now the capsicum is being cultivated in Chuadanga as well. The
rate of production is very good thanks all thanks to the favorable weather and fertile soil. Local
farmers are also getting more and more interest to cultivate capsicum because it requires less

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effort and time than many other crops and plants. Capsicum produced in Chuadanga are send to
Dhaka and to Chittagong after meeting local demand.

Not only in Chuadanga, the cultivation of capsicum has also spread to Sylhet and Bhola. In each
year the total amount of capsicum production is increasing rapidly. I couldn’t find any specific
amount that capsicum impacts on GDP, but it is safe to say that with the increasing amount of
cultivation the capsicum will have a big impact on the GDP of Bangladesh.

According to chaldal.com 300 grams of green capsicum’s regular price is 105 Taka, but right
now chaldal.com is running a campaign and in this campaign, it cost only 60 Taka for 300 grams
of green capsicum. And the regular price of yellow capsicum is 199 Taka for 300 grams. The
campaign I mentioned earlier chaldal.com is offering 119 Taka for 300 grams of yellow
capsicum.

Health Benefit of Capsicum:

Capsicum is heavily loaded with Vitamins and minerals. According to healthline.com Capsicum
contains

 Vitamin C
 Vitamin B6
 Vitamin K1
 Potassium
 Folate
 Vitamin E
 Vitamin A

Capsicum also contains various antioxidants like:

 Capsanthin
 Violaxanthin
 Lutein
 Quercetin
 Luteolin.

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It has a lot of health benefits. Some of them are listed below:

 Good for heart

 Improves metabolism
 Lowers the risk of cancer
 Antioxidant properties
 Improve immunity
 Relieves pain
 Cures iron deficiency

Reason of Capsicum Becoming Vegetable of Choice:

In modern times, people look for small goods that have a lot of health benefits. So, people will
consume less but will not miss out any benefits. Capsicum is exactly that kind of vegetable.

At first the people of upper class and upper middle class used to consume capsicum. But with the
covid-19 pandemic in full force in Bangladesh, people are looking for vegetables that contains
big amount of Vitamins and minerals. Not only capsicum contains Vitamins and minerals, but
also it contains antioxidants. This is the main reason that capsicum suddenly becoming more and
more popular.

Conclusion:
At last, I can say that capsicum has big potential and future in Bangladesh. With little more help
of Bangladesh Government, cultivation of capsicum can help the country not only in terms of
economy also with the health of the people of Bangladesh.