BSS, Rangpur :
Chairman of Bangladesh Tea Board (BTB) Major General Md Abdus Salam Saturday said BTB has taken a comprehensive Common Fund for Community (CFC) project to further develop tea cultivation in Panchagarh.
The governments of Bangladesh and Indonesia have jointly been implementing the project with over 7.35 lakh US Dollars using as revolving fund with the assistances of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, he said.
He was addressing inaugural ceremony of the two-day eleventh Bangladesh Tea Research Institute (BTRI) Annual Training Course-2014 being organised by BTB at its Regional Office in Panchagarh for the tea farmers on Saturday as chief guest. BTRI Director Dr Mainuddin Ahmed presided over the ceremony.
Member (Planning & Development) of BTB Mohammad Siddik, its Director (Project Development Unit) Harun Ar Rashid sparkler, Panchagarh Sadar upazila Chairman Anwar Sadat Samrat and tea farmer Motiar Rahman spoke as special guests.
Chief Scientific Officer (Plant Pathology) of BTRI Dr Mohammad Ali has been conducting the training course on tea cultivation and more than 100 small, medium and bigger tea farmers, owners of tea gardens and estates are participating.
Principal Scientific Officer (Agronomy) of BTRI SM Altaf Hossain, its Senior Scientific Officers Abdul Kaiyum Khan and Shameem Al Mamun, Scientific Officer Dulal Chandra Dey have been taking part in the course as resource persons.
The scientists have been providing training on preparing and transplantation of quality tea sapling, nursing of planted saplings, shadow management, application and management of fertilisers, pesticides, disease, weed and tea nurseries, pruning of tea plants, plucking of tea-leaves, controlling and processing of quality tea in the course.
The tea growers will use the vehicles including three jeeps for carrying the plucked tea-leaves from the fields to the tea processing factories through cooperative societies, he said adding that technical assistances and 700,000 tea saplings will be provided to the growers under the project.
Besides, trainings, workshops, seminars and visits to the tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka will be arranged for the new tea growers under the project, he added.
