DHAKA, Feb 25, 2015 (BSS)- Stressing the need for developing different variety of climate-resilient crops, President Abdul
Hamid today urged the agriculturists to make agricultural research, education, training and expansion more integrated and modern.
“The big challenge for our agriculture is to fulfill the demand of food of the country’s huge population along with facing the situation of climate change . . . for this reason we need to make agriculture education more modern and develop different variety of climate-tolerant crops,” the President said while speaking at the ‘Krishibid Institution Padak’ distribution ceremony here.
Four persons and one institution received the first Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) Padak for their outstanding contribution to the agriculture sector. The padak recipients are – Dr Mohammad Mamunur Rashid, Shahadat Hossain Siddique, Asadul Haque Biswas, Dr Md Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute.
In his speech Abdul Hamid said farmers will have to be enriched with agriculture-based ICT knowledge so that they can maintain pace with the changing situation and use ICT knowledge for crops production purposes.
The President laid emphasis on ensuring fair prices of crops and urged all, including the agriculturists, agricultural scientists and expansion activists, to take necessary steps in this regard.
Recalling the initiatives taken by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman for the development of agricultural sector, Abdul Hamid said Bangabandhu gave agriculturists first class status in 1973 to attract meritorious graduates for the development of agriculture.
The present government has also attached highest priority to the agriculture and taken massive programmes for the development of this important sector, he said, adding that as a result, the country has become sufficient in food production.
Abdul Hamid congratulated the KIB Padak recipients and hoped that this recognition would encourage them to work for the overall development of the country’s agriculture.
Agricultural minister Begum Matia Chowdhury, state minister for fisheries and livestock minister Narayan Chandra Chanda, chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on finance ministry Dr Md Abdur Razzak, Abdul Mannan, MP and secretary general of KIB Mohammad Mobarak Ali also spoke on the occasion.
Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) President AFM Bahauddin Nasim, MP presided over the medal distribution ceremony.