The Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque said that the present government is working relentlessly to ensure safe and nutritious food for all.
The Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) policy has already been adopted in the country and its implementation already reveals good benefits.
He said that there will be management of the category of good agricultural practices, certification, testing, monitoring, reporting etc. under this policy.
This will ensure traceability, in addition, work is being done to improve the certification system, establish an accredited lab in Purbachal, modernize the packaging and processing center in Shyampur and to set up a vacuum heat treatment plant with washing facilities under various projects in order to increase the export of fruits and vegetables abroad.
The agriculture minister disclosed the information while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural function of a two-day regional training workshop on 'Fruit and Vegetable Certification Process and GAP Identification' organized by SAARC Agriculture Center (SAC) in collaboration with Quality Council of India (QCI), joining the event virtually from the ministry's office room on Monday.
Dr Razzak said that the SAARC countries have made commendable progress in food production. However, limited access to nutritious food is still a concern. In many cases, malnutrition is still rampant. Fruits and vegetables can be most helpful in meeting the nutritional needs in this situation. Therefore, the regional training workshop on Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) on Fruits and Vegetables is very timely and very important.
The joint efforts of SAARC countries, exchange of knowledge on good agricultural practices (GAP) and cooperation will helpful in the successful implementation of GAP policy and removal of trade barriers among SAARC countries, he added.
The minister expressed hope that such regional training workshops would further strengthen the bonds of cooperation among the SAARC countries.
Agriculture Commissioner of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, SK Malhotra, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forests of Bhutan, Dasho Rinzin Dorji and Senior Program Specialist (Horticulture) of the SAARC Agricultural Center, Nasreen Sultana spoke during the event chaired by SAARC Agricultural Center Director Md Baktiyar Hossain.
Md Asadullah, Director General of Department of Agricultural Extension and BARC Executive Chairman Dr Sheikh Mohammad Bakhtiar were present at this time.
The SAARC Agricultural Center (SAC) is one of the five regional organizations of SAARC. This agricultural center, located in Bangladesh, has been working to identify major agricultural issues in South Asia, formulate policies and develop human resources.
Twenty trainees from eight SAARC countries participated in the two-day training organized by SAC while renowned trainers from different institutions of eight countries provided training.
