‘Call for boosting fruit production for self-reliance’

BSS, Rangpur :
Speakers at the inaugural ceremony of a three-day fruit tree fair on Tuesday stressed for boosting fruit production for attaining economic self-reliance by the rural people and alleviate poverty after meeting nutrition demand.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and Ghoraghat upazila administration have been jointly arranging the Fruit Tree Fair-2014 jointly at Ghoraghat upazila parishad premises in Dinajpur district.
Ghoraghat upazila chairman Abdus Sattar Milan attended and addressed the discussion arranged on the occasion as the chief guest after ceremonially inaugurating the fair.
With Ghoraghat Upazila Nirbahi Officer Tabibur Rahman in the chair, female upazila chairman Rushina Soren, Officer-in-Charge of Ghoraghat Thana Farhad Imrul Mkayes, Upazila Agriculture Officer Belal Uddin addressed the occasion as the special guests.
Upazila level officials and employees of the DAE, Department of Forest, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute and NGOs, nursery owners, students, farmers and local elite attended.
The private nursery owners, agri-departments and entrepreneurs have set up a number of stalls displaying varieties of fruits including indigenous species and fruit-bearing saplings on the fair ground.
The speakers asked plantation of fruit, timber and medicinal plant saplings into a social movement to reduce environmental degradation and raise fruit production through imparting necessary training to the growers and ensuring marketing facilities.
Referring to the prevailing brighter prospect of fruit production in rural areas, they suggested for bringing all stakeholders into an integrated approach to enhance production of indigenous, high yielding and hybrid variety fruits and vegetables.
The chief guest called upon every citizen for planting all varieties of fruit, timber and medicinal plants to achieve self-reliance and maintain ecology, environment, bio-diversity saving the country from natural catastrophes from climate change impacts.