Staff Reporter :
In a bid to achieve an agricultural productivity boost, businessmen and analysts have stressed the availability of improved varieties of seeds at the farmer level.
They also said that strengthening the food innovation process for high-yielding and climate-tolerant varieties, and conducting research have been given special importance in the agricultural sector.
Besides, they also emphasised agricultural mechanisation, the establishment of specialised cold storage, an improved supply system, and the processing of agricultural products to reduce production costs.
The panel discussed these issues in a meeting of the standing committee on agriculture, agro-processing, and agro-based industries at FBCCI’s Motijheel office on Wednesday.
Addressing the chief guest at the meeting, FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam said that the most important thing in the development of agriculture is quality and advanced varieties of seeds.
” We need to focus on research to improve seed quality. Also, more attention should be paid to the use of technology.
As technology improves in agriculture, productivity will increase.” said Mahbubul.
He placed special importance on’building a cool-chain network’ across the country to prevent wastage of agricultural products at various stages, from production to marketing.
Calling for a change in the mentality of the farmers, the FBCCI president said that the farmers should get a fair price for their produce.
Policies should be implemented to protect their interests.
FBCCI senior vice president Md. Amin Helaly urged everyone to adopt short-, medium-, and long-term plans centred on agriculture to ensure sustainable development.
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman of the committee and chairman of PRAN-RFL Group, highlighted the importance of ensuring maximum utilisation of agricultural land and increasing productivity, keeping in mind future food security and increasing demand.
He further suggested focusing on increasing the production of crops like horticulture, fisheries, livestock, and poultry, along with pulses and oilseeds, in addition to traditional crops.
FBCCI panel advisor and prominent media personality Shykh Seraj said, “It is necessary to create a crop calendar in the country to increase agricultural productivity and ensure farmers get fair prices.”
He suggested the formation of farmers’ associations to identify and solve farmers’ problems.
Shykh Seraj called for public-private joint initiatives to implement compliance and GAP (good agricultural practices) in the value addition, processing, and export of agricultural products.
The director-in-charge of the committee and director of FBCCI, Mohammad Ishaqul Hossain Sweet, called for specific suggestions and recommendations in written form to the committee members to find solutions to the challenges and solutions of the agriculture sector.