Commodity prices start falling: Planning minister

Prices of essential commodities in the country's markets have started declining and will drop further, claimed Planning Minister MA Mannan on Saturday.

This has been possible owing to the strategic measures taken by the government, he said while addressing a seminar at a city hotel.

Netherlands Alumni Association in Bangladesh with support from Nuffic and The Royal Netherlands Embassy in Dhaka organised the event titled "Revolutionary Transformation in Agriculture for Food and Nutrition Security in Bangladesh". 

He suggested giving due importance to the country's agriculture sector, saying that the country must increase agricultural production to avert future crises.

He reflected that Bangladesh was once completely dependent on agriculture, but there have been some changes or evolution following independence. Independence made the country free from hunger, he noted.

In a keynote presentation, Prof Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan, vice-chancellor of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, said Bangladesh has made tremendous progress in increasing food production over the last three decades. 

The agriculture sector plays an important role in increasing productivity, ensuring sustainable food security, creating employment opportunities, and export-import trade, he added.

Referring to the BBS data, he said in FY21, agriculture contributed about 13.47% to the GDP. 

He added that despite declining arable land, population growth, and climate change impacts, crop production continued growing.

He said use of hybrid rice varieties, though on a limited scale, has contributed to the increase in rice production in the country.

In another presentation, Sharif Uddin, director (marine) of the department of fisheries said aquaculture production in Bangladesh grew over 3.7 times in the last 38 years.