The Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) said on Wednesday that there is an urgent need to ensure quality seeds and modern storage facilities to increase agricultural production.
FBCCI President Mahbubul Alam was speaking at a discussion meeting of the standing committee on agriculture, agro-processing and agro-based industries at FBCCI’s Motijheel office.
He said that to achieve the desired productivity in agriculture, businesses in this sector have given special importance to the availability of good quality high-yielding seeds at the farmer level, strengthening the food innovation process and climate-tolerant varieties and research.
Besides, businesses emphasized on agricultural mechanization, establishment of specialized cold storage facilities, improved supply system and processing of agricultural products to reduce production costs.
“We need to focus on research to improve seed quality. Also, more attention should be paid to the use of technology. As technology improves in agriculture, productivity will increase,” said the FBCCI president.
He said that farmers should be assured of getting a fair price of produce while policies should be implemented to protect their interests.
Ahsan Khan Chowdhury, chairman of the committee and chairman of Pran RFL Group, highlighted the importance of ensuring maximum utilization of agricultural land and increasing productivity keeping in mind future food security and growing demand.
Apart from traditional crops, he suggested increasing the production of horticulture, fisheries, livestock, and poultry including pulses and oilseeds.
Vegetable seeds of 17 different types of High Yielding Crops suitable to the agro climatic conditions of the State are produced by 189 trained seed growers under the technical guidance of VFPCK Seed Production – Deputy Managers/ Asst. Manager. This is a shining example of how Public – Private Participatory (P.P.P) models can attain excellent results.
This unit have nurtured and developed a harmonious and long standing relationship with the farmers of Chittur Taluk of Palakkad over the past 25 years to achieve what many thought impossible till recently. This unit is today widely acknowledged as a centre capable of engaging in the commercial production of vegetable seeds in Kerala and operating in an economically viable manner.
