With a growing population and the presence of Rohingya refugees, there is a need to augment food production to ensure sustained food security.

BM Desk:

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has affirmed its commitment to bolstering cooperation and initiatives aimed at elevating rice production and productivity in Bangladesh. The institute has adopted a comprehensive five-year work plan to advance this objective.

This assurance was conveyed during a meeting between an IRRI delegation and Agriculture Minister Md Abdus Shahid at his Secretariat Office on Monday.

The IRRI delegation included Jongsoo Shin, IRRI’s Asia Regional Director; Dr Humnath Bhandari, IRRI Bangladesh Representative; Executive Director Mohammed Shaheen Bhuiya, and Shahjahan Kabir, Director General of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI).

Highlighting the critical role of food security in addressing various challenges, the agriculture minister emphasized that Bangladesh currently does not face food shortages.

With a growing population and the presence of Rohingya refugees, there is a need to augment food production to ensure sustained food security.

Abdus Shahid underlined the government’s objective to increase production, asserting that higher production would mitigate issues like hoarding and the creation of artificial crises.

The IRRI delegation outlined their strategic focus on developing high-yielding, short-duration, and quality rice varieties.