Mechanization of agriculture is necessary to achieve food security in Bangladesh. To meet the food demand of the growing population, the use of machinery in agriculture must be increased.
India Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industries (IBCCI) President Abdul Matlub Ahmad said this while presiding over a press conference on the occasion of the Indo-Bangladesh Agri Mechanization Summit held at the International Convention City Bashundhara (ICCB) in the capital on Saturday. Among others present were Senior Director CII Manish Mohan, COO of ACE Ashok Anantharaman and TAFFE Vice President Sudarshan R. Several MOUs were signed during the summit.
IBCCI President Abdul Matlub Ahmad said that Bangladesh is an agricultural country. The revolution of Bangladesh agriculture started at the hands of the father of the nation. But now it’s a big challenge to increase food production to keep pace with a growing population. Present government is trying to bring down the cost of production by mechanizing agriculture.
“In our country, agricultural machinery is used in 95 percent of land cultivation, but less than three percent of agricultural machinery is used in planting seedlings. On the other hand, 10 percent harvesters are used for harvesting, but 95 percent threshers are used for threshing rice. If the use of agricultural machinery is ensured in all areas of agricultural production, the cost of production will be reduced to a great extent and farmers will benefit immensely, production will increase and thus food security will be ensured,” added Abdul Matlub Ahmed.
Oilseeds such as mustard, sunflower are grown in large quantities in the country, but due to lack of proper crushing machines, extraction of required oil is not possible. In this regard, the lack of proper crushing machines has been felt for a long time.
“Through the joint venture, agricultural machinery will be manufactured to meet the needs of the country and can be exported abroad,” he observed.
The present government has taken various steps for agricultural mechanization. In this regard, the cooperation of CII and TMA will further accelerate this program of the government.
“We hope that Indian traders will supply agricultural machinery and parts at low cost to further accelerate agriculture mechanization initiative,” hope the IBCCI president.
