BSS, Rangpur :
Experts at a farmers’ field day programme have stressed expanded cultivation and optimum consumption of zinc-enriched rice to prevent deficiency of zinc, iron and vitamin-A of women and children and increase disease resistant capacity.
The observation came at the function organised by RDRS Bangladesh, an NGO, for harvesting BRRI dhan72 in the field of farmer Gopal Chandra Roy at village Baniyapara under Taraganj upazila here on Monday afternoon.
The NGO has been expanding technologies for farming, seed production, processing and storing of high zinc-enriched BRRI dhan62 and BRRI dhan72 varieties as a local implementation partner of The HarvestPlus Challenge programme since 2013.
Deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension SM Ashraf Ali attended the occasion as the chief guest with chairman of Hariarkuthi Union Federation Anisul Haque in the chair.
Principal scientific officer at Rangpur regional station of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute Dr Abu Bakar Siddik Sarker, Taraganj Upazila Agriculture Officer Rezaul Karim and Agricultural Research and Development Officer of HarvestPlus Bangladesh Ruhul Amin Mandal attended the programme as special guests.
More than 300 male and female farmers participated in the filed day to witness harvesting of BRRI dhan72 and acquire knowledge on its cultivation technologies, agronomical managements and benefits.
Agriculture and environment coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid discussed cultivation technologies, importance of enhancing cultivation, benefits and optimum consumption of zinc-enriched rice for meeting nutritional demand of people.
“Fifty farmers have set up exhibition plots of high yielding variety zinc-enriched BRRI dhan72 on one bigha land each with assistance of RDRS Bangladesh in different districts under Rangpur division during this Aman season,” he said.
Mamun said, “Each kilogram of this zinc-enriched rice contains 22.8 milligram of zinc, consumption of which can meet micro-nutritional demands of the children, women and people of all ages for building a healthier nation.” He called upon the farmers for enhancing cultivation of zinc-enriched BRRI dhan72 along with other zinc-enriched rice varieties to supplement zinc deficiency of the population and increase rice production to attain sustainable food security.
Strengthening local governments for attaining SDGs stressed
Strengthening of the local government bodies would ensure transparency in their activities and accelerate advancement in rural areas to attain the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
The opinion came at concluding ceremony of a daylong workshop on attaining the set sustainable development goals organised by the upazila administration at Kawnia upazila parisahd auditorium in the district on Sunday.
Deputy Director (Local Government) for Rangpur Sultana Parveen attended the workshop as the chief guest with Kawnia Upazila Nirbahi Officer Dipankar Roy in the chair.
Kawnia upazila Chairman Alhaj Mahfuzar Rahman Mithu, its Vice-chairmen Abdur Razzaque and Shefali Khatun, addressed the concluding ceremony as special guests.
The upazila level government officials of different departments, chairmen of all union parishads under Kawnia upazila, civil society members, local journalists and elite attended the workshop.
District Coordinator of the LGSP Jahangir Alam elaborately discussed on the 17 set goals and 169 targets related to the sustainable development goals in the workshop.
The speakers said that the field level administration could play the most vital role to implement the LGSP for achieving the set SDGs through proper monitoring and enhancing capacity of the local government bodies.
They laid emphasis on ensuring enhanced participation of the common people with functioning process of the local government bodies, formulating and implementing pro-people and need-based policies and budgets to accelerate rural development.
The chief guest Sultana Parveen stressed on enhancing efficiency and
capacity of the local government institutions and elected public representatives in preparing policies, strategies and work-plans to ensure better management, good governance and accountability.
She said that proper strengthening of the local government bodies would ensure justice, smooth rural development and institutionalisation of democracy at grassroots to build a middle income Bangladesh by 2021 and developed nation by 2041.
