The prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, has called upon the agriculturists to innovate time-befitting and sustainable agri technologies and reach those to the farmers in order to boost food production.
She also directed the authorities concerned to ensure that the farmers can get agri inputs in time as well as fair prices of their produces.
The prime minister said this while unveiling the foundation plaque of the Krishibid Institution, Bangladesh Complex and inaugurating the annual general meeting of the institution at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in Dhaka Thursday morning.
Agriculture minister Matia Chowdhury, food minister Abdur Razzaque, fisheries and animal resources minister Abdul Latif Biswas, Privatisation Commission chairman Mirza Abdul Jalil and agriculture secretary Manzur Hossain addressed the function, among others.
KIB president professor Nitish Chandra Devnath presided over the function, while KIB secretary general AFM Bahaudiin Nasim delivered the welcome address.
Hasina underscored the need for increasing agri production by ensuring its profitability, sustainability and making it environment-friendly.
The prime minister said rampant use of underground water and chemical fertilisers was polluting water and soil as well as wasting precious natural resources and asked the agri- scientists to come forward to develop sustainable technologies to overcome the problem.
Hasina termed the agriculture sector one of the main driving forces in Bangladesh’s economic development and said the quantity of the land was being reduced day by due to booming population, urbanisation and setting up of mills and factories.
On the other hand, she said the demand for agri products was going up. ‘So, to face the two-way challenges, we have to produce more foods on limited lands,’ she said.
The prime minister also laid emphasis on innovating developed varieties of crops suiting to climate and environment and as per the demand of the areas concerned side by side with increasing agri research facilities.
She also said the area of agriculture land would have to be expanded through enhancing irrigation facilities and removing water logging and draining out water of haor area in a planned way.