The main goal of development projects must be to ensure the welfare of farmers, farm owners, and producers, not merely to undertake projects for the sake of implementation, Agriculture Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid has said.
Speaking as chief guest at the concluding workshop of the Livestock and Dairy Development Project (LDDP) and the inauguration of the new Bangladesh Dairy Development Board building in Savar on Tuesday, the minister stressed the need to improve the living standards of beneficiaries and ensure fair prices for produced goods.
“The main condition for the development of the country’s agriculture and livestock sectors is to ensure fair prices for producers. If farmers do not receive the proper price for their produced goods, sustainable development is not possible,” the minister said.
The minister noted a lack of effective coordination between production and market demand in the country. Producers often do not know where and how much demand exists, and goods do not reach consumers in a timely manner.
“Middlemen profit while farmers and farm owners are deprived. The government will work to reduce this gap and increase communication between producers and the market,” he said.
Highlighting the importance of research for sustainable development, the minister said maximum importance must be given to research to increase productivity, prevent disease, and achieve international competitiveness. The government will invest more in research activities in the agriculture and livestock sectors in the future.
On vaccines, the minister said for those that can be produced domestically, import dependence will be reduced and local production encouraged. “Achieving self-reliance is one of the government’s key objectives,” he said.
Addressing officials, scientists, and project personnel, the minister said it must be ensured that the benefits of every project funded by public money reach the people directly.
“If effective solutions can be provided by identifying real problems at the field level, the country’s agriculture and livestock sectors will advance further,” he concluded.
Presided over by Department of Livestock Services Director General Md Shahjaman Khan, the event was attended by Fisheries and Livestock Secretary Md Delwar Hossain, Additional Secretary Md Imam Uddin Kabir, and Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute Director General Shakila Faruq.
Bangladesh Dairy Development Board Executive Director Shahin Ara Begum delivered the welcome address, and LDDP Project Director Md Mostafa Kamal presented the keynote paper.
