Photo: Collected
Farmers' level of crop production can easily be enhanced by 15-20 percent on average if quality seed is provided.
The field-level agricultural officials and other staff concerned should act to enhance farmers’ competence in producing quality seeds of the highly valued crops.
Agriculture officials, scientists, and researchers came up with the remark while addressing a regional workshop on quality seed production of rice, wheat, and jute here today.
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) organized the workshop at its conference hall supported by the Farmer Level Quality Rice, Wheat, and Jute Seed Production, Preservation and Distribution through Modern Technology Project.
More than 80 district and upazila-level agricultural officials, researchers, and farmers from four districts in the region attended the workshop.
DAE Additional Director Shamsul Wadud and Regional Seed Certification Officer Dr Sheikh Ruhul Amin addressed the workshop as chief and special guests respectively, while Deputy Director Dr Motaleb Hossain was in the chair.
During his keynote presentation, Project Director Muhammad Ali Zinnah gave an illustration of the project along with its aims, objectives, implementation strategy and so far achievements.
He underlined the need for an integrated effort to boost the seed production of paddy, wheat, and jute at the farmers’ level to meet increasing domestic demands.
Besides, he urged the field-level officials to put in their best effort to enhance seed production through the best uses of the existing natural resources.
Emphasis should be given to making farmers habituated to modern cultivation methods along with using quality seed through establishing projection plots of improved technologies for enhancing food grain output, he added.
DAE Deputy Director Mozder Hossain and Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute Dr Ilias Hossain also spoke.
In his remarks, Additional Director Shamsul Wadud said the agricultural extension and research officials have a vital role in accelerating the country's agro-production including the paddy, wheat, and jute, and urged them to reach the innovative technologies and modern know-how at the doorstep of the farmers.
Considering the agricultural environment and socio-economic condition of the region, he said the rice-wheat-jute crop-diversification method should be promoted at the grassroots as it has been adjudged as profit-making, cost-effective, and time-saving.
He also said importance should be given to the formation of farmers groups in the block system instead of individual initiatives. So, the existing prospects in the agriculture sector could be made realistic.
Source: Online/GFMM
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