India pledges cooperation in farm mechanisation

Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Vikram K Doraiswami has said initiatives will be taken so that Mahindra and other agro-machinery manufacturers in India set up their factories in Bangladesh and invest in manufacturing and assembling farm equipment locally.

The newly appointed Indian envoy to Dhaka called on Agriculture Minister Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque at his office Wednesday. During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and cooperation in agriculture, agro-machinery, agro-processing, seed technology and dairy processing.

Razzaque informed the Indian envoy about the government's recently taken projects for farm mechanisation and modernisation involving a cost of around Tk3,000 crore.

The minister said the country will need huge farm machinery by 2025, and that Indian agricultural machinery manufacturers have scope for investmentsin Bangladesh.

The minister said Bangladesh is slightly lagging behind in processing and marketing of agricultural products, while India has made much progress in this regard. He therefore asked for India's cooperation in this sector.

The minister also sought India's cooperation in training, seed technology, milk processing, agro processing, and supply of improved varieties of seeds and seedlings including Bt cotton, maize and almonds.

Praising Bangladesh's success in agriculture, Indian High Commissioner VikramDoraiswami said Bangladesh has not only achieved food self-sufficiency, but in many cases can now export food products.

On banning onion export to Bangladesh, the ambassador said India slapped the restriction as rains and flooding damaged cultivation of the bulb in Maharashtra and Karnataka, prompting a supply shortage and price hike in Indian market.

The ambassador said India has recently approved export of 20,000 tonnes of onions to Bangladesh.