Tk438 cr project to bring fallow land under cultivation: Agriculture minister
Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque added that the project is intended to support the country in coping with the food crisis in the Covid-19 situation
The government has undertaken a Tk438 crore project to bring fallow land under cultivation, in order to cope with the food crisis in Covid-19 situation, Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque has said.
"Under the project, gardens will be made in the yards of houses and fallow land to meet up family nutrition. With this, food production will increase further," he said.
He was addressing the inaugural function of the annual general meeting of the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) Krishibid Samity at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre in the city on Saturday, said a press release.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The project was undertaken by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's directive to bring every inch of land under cultivation to cope with the food crisis during the pandemic, Razzaque said.
Urging BADC officials to play a stronger role in the production and distribution of seeds of new varieties of crops, the minister added, "We have now become self-sufficient in food. Now we are working to ensure safe and nutritious food. To achieve that, agronomists have to play a strong role."
The minister slammed the recent remark of Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, founder of Gonoshasthaya Kendra, that "five lakh Indians are working in the country without passports."
Dr Md Abdur Razzaque said, "Where did he [Dr Zafrullah] get this information? On the basis of what information did he make this comment? He is saying these misleading information things to confuse the nation."
"From 1947, Pakistanis exploited Bangladesh for 23 years by providing such misleading information and religious sentiments. The same quarters, the anti-liberation forces, their local allies and collaborators are still trying to mislead the nation by spreading baseless information," the minister said.
BADC Krishibid Samity President Ripon Kumar Mandal presided over the programme while Biman Bangladesh Airlines Chairman Sajjadul Hasan, Agriculture Ministry Senior Secretary Md Mesbahul Islam, BADC Chairman Dr Amitabh Sarkar, and Finance Ministry Additional Secretary Dr Md Nazrul Islam were special guests.
More than 300 BADC agronomists working across the country attended the AGM of the organisation.
