RAJSHAHI, Nov 7, 2019 (BSS)- Collective effort of all concerned has become an urgent need to attain the goal of achieving safe and profitable agriculture for sustainable food and nutrition security of the country.
Increasing income and livelihood improvement of farmers is very important for making agriculture profitable. To this end, emphasis should be given on modernization of agricultural research, education and extension.
The observations came at a daylong workshop here yesterday by significant number of senior agricultural extension officials and scientists and researchers as well as policy formulators who underlined the need for increasing farmers capability and income through institutional infrastructure development and efficient technology services.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) and FAO Representation in Bangladesh jointly organized the workshop titled “Stakeholder Consultation for Preparation of Plan of Action for Implementation of National Agriculture Policy- 2018” at conference hall of Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) here.
Additional Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Dr Abdur Rouf Chowdhury and BMDA Executive Director Engineer Abdur Rashid addressed the programme as chief and special guests respectively with DAE Additional Director Deb Dulal Dhali in the chair.
During the concept paper presentations, FAO Consultants Prof Dr Rezaul Karim and Dr HS Gupta illustrated eighteen key issues and three thematic areas to attain the ten specific objectives of the national agriculture policy.
Dr Rouf Chowdhury told the meeting that the main goal of the policy is to ensure food security and socio-economic development through productivity of crops, boosting production and raising farmers’ income, diversifying crops, producing safe foods and developing marketing system, profitable agriculture and use of natural resources.
He added that the five-year agriculture policy has been updated incorporating provisions for the use of new technology to increase production and ensure safe agriculture as well as safe food.
Dr Chowdhury urged the attending extension officials and scientists to devise ways and means on how to promote water-saving crops, drip irrigation system and surface water resources in the drought-prone Barind area to make its agriculture profitable.
He also called for substantial and sustainable reduction of physical labour side by side with cost-saving farming system through farm mechanization.
More than 70 persons including officials representing all entities under the ministry of agriculture, agriculture inputs sellers and farmers joined the workshop sharing views on the issue.