Good agriculture practices to ensure sound public health underscored

853

RAJSHAHI, July 16, 2018 (BSS) – Speakers at a function here called for
following good agriculture practices to ensure food safety and free public
health from various non-contagious diseases like cancer, heart ailment and
liver cirrhosis.

They said collective efforts of all the government and non-government
entities concerned has become an urgent need to attain the desired goal of
preventing the deadly diseases.

They came up with the expression at a seminar titled ‘Food Safety Focusing
Safe Tomato and Mango Products’ at Hotel Warishan in Rajshahi city today.

“Ensuring Food Safety implementing Good Agricultural Practices (GAP), Good
Handling Practices (GHP) and Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP)” was the main
focus at the seminar.

SNV Netherlands Development Organization with financial support of
European Commission hosted the seminar under “Improving consumer awareness
and access to certified safe tomato and mango products in Bangladesh”
project.

Additional Director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Mustafizur
Rahman and Director of Bangladesh Food Safety Authority Mahbub Alam addressed
the programme as chief and special guests respectively with Additional Deputy
Commissioner Sabet Ali in the chair. DAE Deputy Directors Joynal Abedeen and
Deb Dulal Dhali also spoke.

District Training Officer of DAE Monjurul Haque and Senior Scientific
Officer of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute Dr Sorof Uddin presented
two keynote papers on ‘GAP and dissemination of GAP technology’ and ‘Ensuring
Food Safety through GHP and GMP’ respectively.

The participants were given ideas on how they will engage them to follow
good practices of production, handling and processing of tomatoes and
mangoes.

More than 100 scientists and researchers, extension officials, development
activists, farmers and fruit traders joined the workshop and took part in its
open discussion putting forward a set of recommendations to ensure good
agricultural practices for the sake of ensuring sound public health.