DHAKA, Nov 29, 2022 (BSS)-A two-day meeting of the Council for Partnership on Rice Research in Asia (CORRA), an international agency of Asia’s sixteen rice producing country, today discussed on enhancing regional cooperation in the rice production among the staple food producing countries in the Asia.

“The meeting will help to enhance more cooperation among the rice producing countries”, said Agriculture Secretary M Sayedul Islam who attended the meeting as the chief guest held at Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in Gazipur.

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) hosted the meeting this year in collaboration with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).

The meeting will also discuss on the problems and possibilities in rice production, climate change and rice based food system, said the concerned officials familiar with the meeting.

The main objectives of the meeting is to asses, discuss and come to a consensus on collaborative actions and initiatives regarding principal issues and challenges facing the Asian and global rice industry.

The first day of the meeting was structured with an opening session followed by five different technical sessions on the topics like CORRA member country updates on rice research initiatives, increasing resilience and enhancing adaptation of rice-based food systems to climate change, IRRI’s research and development activities in rice research, partnership and collaboration in rice research strategies in South Asia etc.

On the second day (Nov 30) the representatives from CORRA member countries will visit the research facilities and experimental fields of BRRI and BARI and exchange views on the field of possible co-operations.

Of the sixteenth rice producing countries, representatives from 11 countries including Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Philippines, Laos, Pakistan and Cambodia directly participated in the meeting and the other countries like China, South Korea, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan took part in the meeting through virtual platform.

Chaired by BARC Executive Chairman Shaikh Mohamamd Bokhtiar, the opening session was attended by the senior representatives of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) of Sixteen CORRA member countries and senior IRRI officials.