Stressing the need for developing different variety of climate-resilient crops to ensure food security, President Abdul Hamid on Monday urged the agriculturists to make agricultural research, education, training and expansion more integrated and farmer-friendly. “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 and for this reason, we need to make agriculture education more modern and to develop different variety of climate-tolerant crops,” the President said while speaking at the “Krishibid Institution Padak” distribution ceremony here.
Five persons and two institutions received the first Krishibid Institution Bangladesh (KIB) Padak for their outstanding contribution to the agriculture sector. The Padak recipients are Prof M Mofazzal Hossain, Dr M Harun Or Rashid, Selim Reza, Alimul Ehsan Chowdhury, Aleya Begum, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Unit and Infotainment.
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 crop production purposes.
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.
He also urged all concerned to take steps so that farmers can get fair price of their crops.
“We’ve to keep in mind that ensuring good prices for the crops is also important. We all become happy if rice price comes down. But, do we ever think about the farmers who produce rice through their hard labor?” he said.
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 Md Sayedul Haq, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Ministry Dr Md Abdur Razzak, Chairman of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agricultural Ministry Abdul Mannan, Head of Monitoring & Results Measurement of Katalyst Fortunet Diener 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.
