Seventh D-8 meet on agriculture, food security kicks off Wednesday
Dhaka is hosting the meeting as current president of the D-8 forum
The seventh ministerial meeting of the Developing Eight (D-8), an alliance of developing countries, is to begin in Dhaka today (Wednesday).
The two day meeting, organised by the agriculture ministry, will be held virtually due to the current Covid-19 situation, Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said on Tuesday, in a press briefing at the secretariat.
"The main topic of this year's meeting is 'Agriculture and Food Security: Development of Climate-Smart Agriculture,'" he said.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Ministers, secretaries and senior officials from eight developing countries will also discuss cooperation on various issues, including agricultural production and increasing productivity, joint agricultural research, mechanisation, agro-processing, the blue economy, fertiliser production, seeds, animal feed, value chain development, training and capacity building.
Asked about the rice market during the press conference, the Agriculture Minister said, "Wheat prices are rising in the international market. When that happens, rice prices increase as well."
However, he said, rice production is also increasing every year.
"There is sufficient rice in the market," he added.
Bangladesh is hosting the latest D-8 meeting as the current president of the forum. Other members of the alliance include Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. Representatives from several international organisations, including IDB, FAO, IFAD, IRRI, CIMMYT will also participate in the discussion.
