Plan to adopt project on Tuna, similar deep sea fishing

Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal has announced a plan to take up a project called ''Pilot Project on Tuna and Similar Pelagic Fishing in the Deep Sea" as part of Blue Economy development, reports UNB.
Announcing the new project in his budget speech in parliament on Thursday, he said that this will open a new horizon in the ocean economy.
He mentioned that the historic sea conquest under the leadership of the current government has paved the way for developing the country's blue economy.
In 2014, they prepared short-term, medium-term and long-term plan of action to develop the blue economy and harness the potentials of marine resources.
Recently, the action plan has been updated (2018 to 2030) in line with SDGs declared by the United Nations and have started implementing them.
"Through the joint efforts with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO-UN), we have prepared a 'National Plan of Action' to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal and unregulated fishing", he said.
As of February 2022, the fish research and survey vessel 'RV Meen Sandhani' has so far conducted 35 survey cruises, he mentioned.
Another report adds: Finance Minister AHM Mustaf Kamal has emphasized on agricultural modernization in a bid to enhance food production and easing labour dependency in this sector.
The government has been providing farmers up to 50-70 per cent subsidies on agro-machinery, he said in his audio-visual budget speech in Parliament on Thursday.
He said about 71,502 of such machinery have been distributed including combined harvesters, reapers, clippers, and power tillers since 2010.
This has helped the farmers cope with agricultural labour scarcity and lower their production costs.
Moreover, "we have taken up a project at a cost of Tk3,020 crore titled ''Mechanization of Agriculture Work through Integrated Management' which has targeted to distribute 51,300 units of agro-machinery of 12 categories between 2020-2025," the minister said.
Synchronized cultivation has been introduced to take the maximum benefits of farm machinery by transplanting rice seedlings and harvesting in a synchronized manner.