Agriculture info must be disseminated to boost productivity: Jahangir

Agriculture Adviser Lieutenant General (retd) Md. Jahangir Alam Chowdhury emphasized the importance of disseminating agriculture-related information to the doorsteps of people for enhancing productivity apart from benefiting farmers.

“The agriculture-related information must be disseminated at the doorstep of people. Farmers will be benefited if they timely get accurate information, ultimately enhancing productivity,” he said.

The adviser made these remarks as the chief guest during his visit to the Agriculture Information Services (AIS) wing of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) at Khamarbari today.

Terming agriculture as existence, the adviser, said, “During independence, the country had a population numbering 7.5 crores. But currently the population has risen to nearly 18 crores, while arable land has been shrinking over the years.”

He highlighted the ongoing challenges faced by farmers and officials in the agricultural sector as they strive to meet the food demand of the growing population.

Jahangir urged journalists to provide more extensive coverage of the issues affecting farmers, emphasizing that investigative reporting can prompt swift actions to address these challenges.

He called upon the media to give greater prominence to agricultural news, stating, the mass media should prioritize broadcasting agricultural issues with the importance they deserve.

About the recent increase in rice prices, the adviser said the government is committed to stabilizing prices. He also noted that the price of coarse rice has declined, but the cost of fine rice varieties remains high. He also mentioned that the Food Department has not yet been able to procure sufficient quantities of paddy directly from farmers, despite raising procurement prices compared to last year.

Over the presence of syndicates in the rice market, Jahangir said, “We have not yet identified any visible syndicates. However, if such entities are found, we will take necessary action against them.”

The adviser commended officials for the successful implementation of the open market sale (OMS) program of vegetables during the recent price hike and announced that the initiative would likely continue during the upcoming Ramadan.

The adviser, however, congratulated the concerned officials for implementing open market sales (OMS) of vegetables successfully during the recent price hike of the vegetables while he visited the agriculture marketing department at the DAE.

He also directed agriculture marketing officials to intensify their efforts to ensure fair prices for farmers’ produce.
Officials from the department of agricultural extension, marketing, and agriculture information department, among others, were present during the visit. (BSS)