Digital revolution aiding BD to offset pandemic

'Agriculture is always shock absorber in crisis'

FE Report | Published: August 31, 2020 23:00:56

Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Dr Ahmad Kaikaus said digital revolution, value added supply chain and digital financial services are helping Bangladesh to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic impact.
"A number of sectors have really suffered from the pandemic, but digitalisation of services, value added supply chain and digital financial services are helping us recover from Covid-19," he noted.
He was speaking as the chief guest of a webinar - 'Post-COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities for Entrepreneurship and Employment in Agro-based Industry' - held on Saturday night.
It was jointly organised by Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and France Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFB).
Speaking at the programme, Dr Kaikaus also stressed on the need of greater role from all the stakeholders for higher agro-based production and processing in post-COVID 19 economic recovery and food security.
The principal secretary informed that the government is implementing a credit guarantee scheme for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), covering all agro-based production and processing, including aquaculture and livestock, to support commercial and entrepreneurial agriculture.
He further said a special programme has been approved by the Prime Minister for developing the food processing sector that will increase the contribution of agriculture to economic growth, employment and export.
Dr Kaikaus noted that Bangladesh welcomes foreign collaboration, including foreign investments in research and development and agro-based processing.
Bangladesh believes in balanced trade cooperation among the countries, he added.
President of CCIFB Syed Mahmudul Huq said agriculture in Bangladesh has been playing the most important role in providing food security, creating jobs, generating income, and reducing poverty since the independence.
Currently, the share of agriculture in the GDP is around 13 per cent, while its share in employment is close to 40 per cent, indicating a much lower agricultural productivity.
He further said the pandemic has further aggravated the situation, following migration of urban jobless workers and return of overseas workers to the rural areas.
"In times of crisis, agriculture has always been the shock absorber, the savior."
He focused on combined efforts of the government, the industry and the academia to make agriculture not only as the guarantor of food security, but also to materialise it as engine of growth for overall economy.
A K M Hafizullah Khan, Project Director, Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Project (ESDP) of BIDA gave an overall overview of BIDA's initiatives to promote employment and entrepreneurship under ESDP.
He said they would like to carry out training programmes on regulatory regime and business procedures to create more entrepreneurs under the project in all 64 districts within next two years to achieve the target of private investments up to 34 per cent of the GDP by the end of 7th Five-Year Plan.
In his discussion, Emeritus Professor Dr. Sattar Mandal focused on the role of agro-based industry in addressing the challenges and harnessing the opportunities for entrepreneurship and employment in post-COVID-19.
BIDA Executive Chairman Md. Sirazul Islam reiterated the entity's commitment to work with agro-industry stakeholders to increase investment and employment in agro-based industries.
BIDA will convene policy dialogues, formulate actions, and facilitate agro-industrial transformation in coordination with key stakeholders in the government and the private sector, he added.
Shah Syed Kamal, Chairman, Policy and Advocacy Sub-Committee of CCIFB, offered vote of thanks.
The panel of discussants in the webinar included Dr. F. H. Ansarey, Managing Director and CEO, ACI Agribusinesses, ACI Limited, Moshiur Rahman, Managing Director, Paragon Group, Fawzia Yasmeen, Director, Ispahani Agro Limited, Dr. Md. Saleh Ahmed, Chairman, KERNEL Foundation and former Consultant of World Bank and FAO, Dr. Asif Naimur Rashid, Chief Information Officer (CIO), Robi Axiata Limited, Md. Ashraful Alam, Country Project Coordinator, Shaping Inclusive Finance Transformation (SHIFT), United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), Eric Fajole, Director, Business France for South Asia, and Dr. Mahfuzuddin Ahmed, former Adviser and Chief, Rural Development and Food Security, Asian Development Bank, and former Director, World Fish.
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