Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury stressed on the need-based research for agriculture to cope with the impact of the climate change for development of the modern agriculture.
“The country needs to develop saline tolerant and submergence crop varieties to adopt agriculture with adverse impact of the climate change and also for the interest of the sustainable modern agriculture “, said the minister as the chief guest on Thursday while addressing a seminar on ‘Climate Change Adaptation Projects in Agriculture: Challenges and Lessons Learned’ at CIRDAP auditorium here.
The Agriculture Ministry is now implementing 17 projects with the capital from the Climate Change Trust Fund, said the minister.
Bangladesh Climate Change Trust under the Ministry of Environment and Forest organized the seminar while Chairman of the Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) Dr Quazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmad moderated it.
Minister for Environment and Forest Anwar Hossen Manju spoke the seminar as the special guest while Environment and Forest Secretary Dr Kamal Uddin Ahmed chaired it.
Deputy Minister for Environment and Forest Abdullah Al Islam Jakob and Agriculture Secretary Mohmmad Mainuddin Abdullah also spoke as the guests of honour.
To cope with the impact of climate change, Matia Chowdhury told the seminar that the government has taken initiative to enhance and improve the technique of floating agriculture.
The launching of the HYV technology, introduced by the Awami League-led government in 1996, had helped the country to be a self-sufficient in food production in 1999. And that’s why the country has recognized by the FAO as self-sufficient in food production in 2000, the minister added.
A total of four climate related projects and its overall impacts on the agriculture sector also were presented in the seminar.
Anwar Hossain Monju, expressed his dissatisfaction over the performance of climate-related project.
