SRDI calls for expanded soil research

Md Joynal Abedin, Director of the Analytical Services Wing of SRDI said at a seminar that research activities on sustainable soil management and crop production should be further expanded.

He also emphasised that SRDI should be strengthened through collective efforts and that farmers should be encouraged to use fertilizers in a balanced way based on soil testing at a seminar on sustainable soil management and crop production organised by the Soil Resources Development Institute (SRDI) held in the Sylhet region on Wednesday.

The seminar was chaired by Md. Kamal Hossain, Chief Scientific Officer of the SRDI Sylhet Divisional Office. Md. Joynal Abedin, Director of the Analytical Services Wing of SRDI, attended the event as a special guest.

It was addressed by guests of honor including Dr. Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Additional Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Sylhet Region; Professor Dr. Md. Abdul Aziz, Chairman of the Department of Soil Science, Sylhet Agricultural University; Agronomist Subrata Kumar Chakraborty, Principal of the Sylhet Agricultural Training Institute; and Agronomist Md. Shamsuddin Ahmed, Regional Seed Certification Officer of the Seed Certification Agency, Sylhet Region.

Md. Shamsuzzaman, Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Sylhet, also attended the seminar.

The welcome speech was delivered by Dipto Chakraborty, Scientific Officer of the SRDI Sylhet Divisional Office.

Two presentations were delivered during the seminar: one on general soil issues and soil nutrient status in the Sylhet Division, presented by Md. Kamal Hossain, and another on sustainable soil management and lime application technology for crop production in the Sylhet region, presented by Hasan Ahmed Khan Chowdhury, Chief Scientific Officer of the SRDI Sylhet Divisional Laboratory.

An open discussion on the presentations was moderated by Dr. Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Additional Director of DAE, Sylhet Region.

The seminar was attended by officials from Sylhet Agricultural University, Department of Agricultural Extension, Agricultural Training Institute, Agricultural Information Service, Seed Certification Agency, BADC Sylhet, Citrus Research Center (BARI) Jaintapur, BINA Sub-Center Sunamganj, as well as representatives from NGOs and farmer organizations.