The Cabinet approved the draft of “The National Agriculture Policy 2018,” with the aim of ensuring profitable agriculture, nutrition and food security in Bangladesh.
The draft was approved at the weekly meeting of the Cabinet at the Bangladesh Secretariat, with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in chair.
"The new agriculture policy has been formulated by incorporating some new elements following the expiry of the Agriculture Policy 2013," Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam said in a briefing to reporters after the meeting.
The new elements include research on agriculture development, technology transfer and agriculture extension, mechanization, specialized agriculture, ICT, marketing of agricultural products, women empowerment and nano-technology.
"The main goal of the policy is to ensure food security and socio-economic development through productivity of crops, boosting production and raising farmers' income, diversifying crops, producing safe foods and developing marketing system, profitable agriculture and use of natural resources," Shafiul Alam added.
Regarding the use of nano-technology in the agriculture sector, the Cabinet secretary said it would primarily be used to identify diseases in crops, and collect nutritional information.
He further said that sensor-technology would be used to examine the quality of land.
Source: https://www.dhakatribune.com
