Bangabandhu Chair is set up in Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) in Saskatchewan University, Canada under the initiative of ministry of agriculture.
Named in honour of Bangladesh’s Father of the Nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Chair will lead vital agriculture research and development activities between Saskatchewan and Bangladesh, to establish the goals of the partnership.
Andrew Sharpe (PhD), GIFS’ director of genomics and bioinformatics, is appointed as chair in the newly created Bangabandhu Research Chair.
Under Sharpe’s leadership and working with BARC, the Bangabandhu Research Chair in Food Security will establish an agricultural technology centre in Bangladesh, where the Saskatchewan ecosystem partners will work together with Bangladesh partners to enhance crop breeding and plant improvement, advance soil health and quality, improve soil water retention and deliver innovations for post-harvest food handling and processing – a specific area of concern for the country.
"Saskatchewan and the People’s Republic of Bangladesh continue to enjoy strong bilateral relations, and agriculture is important to both our economies so there is strong alignment with our jurisdictions,” said Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture David Marit.
"Bangladesh has made great progress in agriculture production, including attaining self-sufficiency with the rice crop; however, major challenges like increased soil salinity and depleting nutrients, a rapid population growth rate of two million people annually and the covid-19 pandemic have highlighted the need to embrace innovation to deliver sustainable food security. We look forward to working with GIFS and other partners to accomplish this,” said Bangladesh Minister of Agriculture Dr. Mohammed Abdur Razzaque.
