Develop more high yielding variety of food crops

Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina has called upon the agriculture scientists to innovate more high-yielding variety of crops so that farmers can raise production to make the country self-reliant in food, report agencies. The Prime Minister said this while addressing the newly elected leaders of Krishibid Institution, Bangladesh (KIB) who met her at her office in the city Tuesday. President of the association Dr Nitish Chandra Debnath and general secretary AFM Bahauddin Nasim led the delegation. Secretary to the Prime Minister Mollah Waheeduzzaman and her Press Secretary Abul Kalam Azad were present, among others, on the occasion. Mr Azad briefed newsmen after the meeting. The PM told the agriculture scientists that the government is eager to go for all out measures to make the country self-reliant in food. They should concentrate more in research works to innovate more verities of high yielding food grains, she said. "We have to produce more food grains form the available land. We have fewer amount of lands," she added. The Prime Minister thanked the agriculturists for their contribution to increasing the food production. She mentioned that during the previous tenure of Awami League (AL) government they had achieved self-reliant in food production. "We always wanted to see the country self-reliant in food production and don't want to make the country dependent on others," she said. The AL chief mentioned that the BNP-Jama'at alliance government always wanted to make the country depend on others for food grains. "Because they wanted to make the country a beggar state," she said. Hasina noted with satisfaction that salinity resilient paddy seeds have been developed. Now the scientists should concentrate to find out drought resilient variety of paddy as well. She said the government has already decoded the genome of jute. This would bring back the golden days of jute. The KIB leaders said that due to the enormous activities of the government towards the development of agriculture, they made Hasina a lifetime member of the institution.