Labour and Employment Minister Ariful Haque Choudhury on Friday directed officials to involve local farmers in formulating action plans and to ensure the rapid resolution of their problems based on ground-level data to make agricultural development activities more effective.
The minister, who also holds the portfolio for Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, made these remarks while addressing an agricultural input distribution ceremony as the chief guest at the Jaintiapur Upazila Parishad auditorium.
Ministry of Labour and Employment informed the details in a press release on Friday.
He emphasised the need for regular communication with farmers, awareness-building activities, and the involvement of local representatives to identify crop-specific challenges and potential.
“Each union’s block supervisor must prepare separate reports identifying soil conditions, drainage systems, suitable crops, and the needs of farmers,” Ariful said.
He further instructed that locally solvable issues should be settled promptly, while matters requiring additional assistance must be presented to higher authorities through the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO).
The minister also stressed the importance of organising courtyard meetings (Uthan Boithok) and exchange sessions at the field level to raise awareness about modern agricultural technology, vegetable and fruit cultivation, and safe farming management.
He directed field supervisors to document farmers’ grievances and take necessary initiatives for their resolution.
During the meeting, instructions were also given to prepare detailed reports on the current state of the poultry and dairy sectors, vaccine supply, and livestock services.
Ariful urged government officials to perform their duties with sincerity and to play a more active, coordinated, and people-oriented role in the development of the agricultural and livestock sectors.
Under the agricultural rehabilitation assistance programme, various inputs were distributed among the farmers of Jaintiapur Upazila.
The distribution included Aman paddy seeds and fertiliser for approximately 1,800 farmers, summer vegetable seeds and fertiliser for 500 farmers, lemon saplings for 30 farmers, summer brinjal seeds for 30 farmers, and chilli seeds for 50 farmers.
Additionally, tree saplings were provided to 74 farmers and 38 educational institutions.
Earlier in the day, the minister handed over an ECG machine to the Jaintiapur Upazila Health Complex and inspected the overall activities of the hospital.
Presided over by UNO Sunonda Roy, the ceremony was attended by Ministry of Labour and Employment Deputy Secretary Mohammad Shamsul Alam, Additional Deputy Commissioner Masud Rana and Jaintiapur Upazila BNP General Secretary Md Abdul Hafiz alongside other government and non-government officials and local representatives.
