The #MEDAField2Fork2023 photo contest asked readers to submit photos highlighting the agrifood sector, depicting the production, processing, distribution, or sale of food. Interest in this year’s contest was strong. This was the first time the contest had been held globally. It attracted submissions from 19 countries on five continents. The winning entries featured on the next three pages provide a glimpse into agriculture in Bangladesh and India. The accompanying text was taken from information provided by the photographers.
First prize: Women sorting and drying red chilies, by Md Shafiul Islam (Bangladesh)
Red chili is an essential spice in any kind of cooking in Bangladesh which is widely cultivated in the northern region here. This pepper has a huge demand in the outside world, including the local market. Traders buy chilies from farmers and have women workers pick and dry them.
Second prize: Harvesting Water Lilies, by Muhammad Amdad Hossain (Bangladesh)
Aerial view of farmers collecting the water lilies while crossing the river on a boat in Satla Union. Satla is a village in Uzirpur Upazila of Barisal city in Bangladesh. It is known as the capital of water lilies. Water lilies are cultivated in about 10,000 acres of wetlands in this village called Uttar Satla. Eighty percent of the village people are involved in water lilies cultivation and supply water lilies to different parts of the country.
This river is more than 40 square kilometers, covered by lily pads and pink lilies. Every bright pink bloom is hand-picked and collected carefully by farmers to distribute in the local markets during an annual period. The flowers bloom during the seasonal flood, starting from August to November, in Barisal, Bangladesh.
Third prize: Rice Farming at West Bengal, by Arindam Chowdhury (India)
In spite of insufficient monsoon in 2023, paddy has been grown in large quantities in West Bengal. Our farmers have been able to grow golden crops by using alternative irrigation systems.
