Staff Correspondent
With counterfeit and adulterated agricultural inputs increasingly undermining crop yields and threatening national food security, experts have called for urgent, coordinated action to strengthen market surveillance, enforce regulations, and raise awareness among farmers, dealers and other relevant stakeholders across the country. Therefore, a social movement must be developed to prevent counterfeiting and adulteration.
The call came at an online webinar titled “Say No to Counterfeit”, jointly organized by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Syngenta Bangladesh Limited and The Daily Ittefaq in Dhaka on Sunday. The media partner for the roundtable was Bangladesh Agricultural Journalists Forum (BAJF).
The event brought together representatives from government organizations, the private sector, law enforcement, relevant association, academia and agriculture-related industries.
Speaking at the event, Dr. Md. Abdur Rahim, Director General of DAE, said that counterfeit and adulterated inputs are significantly reducing agricultural productivity and posing a serious threat to the country’s food security.
He emphasized the need for stronger market monitoring, effective enforcement of laws, and enhanced farmer awareness to combat the problem.
Delivering the welcome address, Mohammad Shahidul Islam, Director of Corporate Affairs and Sustainability at Syngenta Bangladesh Limited, underscored the importance of collective responsibility in tackling the growing issue of counterfeit inputs.
The keynote presentation was delivered by Dr. Abu Noman Faruq Ahmmed, Professor of Plant Pathology at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, who highlighted the risks posed by substandard agricultural products and their long-term implications for productivity and sustainability.
Participants also stressed that addressing the issue requires robust public-private collaboration, stricter regulatory oversight, and expanded farmer training initiatives to promote safe and responsible agricultural practices. In addition, considering this as a national problem, the laws and policies related to this should be updated. A separate cell should be formed in the agriculture and related ministries through a joint initiative of the government and the private sector.
Panelists included representatives from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Additional Divisional Commissioner, Khulna (MoPA), the National Consumer Rights Protection Directorate (DNCPR), The Daily Ittefaq, was Bangladesh Agricultural Journalists Forum (BAJF), Bangladesh Crop Protection Association (BCPA), Bangladesh Police, Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), and field level distributer.
