RANGPUR, Sept 21 (BSS): Experts at a seminar Sunday urged concerned field level officials to acquire adequate knowledge on 'e-Agriculture' for reaching necessary information and services to the farmers' doorsteps for enhancing food production.
They stressed for ensuring easy access of the farmers to 'e-Agriculture' services utilising digitised information and communication technology (ICT)-based technologies to increase production in every agricultural sector for ensuring national food security.
The Agriculture Information Service (AIS) under its Intensification of the Agriculture Information Service (IAIS-Second Revised) Project in ten agricultural regions of the country organised the seminar on 'Effect of e-Agriculture on Crop Production.'
Acting Rangpur regional additional director of the Department of Agriculture (DAE) Md Zulfiqar Haider attended inaugural ceremony of the seminar as the chief guest at the conference room of the DAE, Rangpur at Lalbag area in the city.
Deputy director (Mass Communications) of the AIS from Dhaka Dr Md. Jahangir Alam attended the seminar as the special guest with project director of IAIS Project Anjan Kumar Barua in the chair.
Thirty officials of the DAE, Bangladesh Betar, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing, Soil Resources Development Institute, District Livestock Department, representatives of NGOs and media particicpated in the seminar.
Presentations on 'e-Agriculture Initiative', 'Role of Electronic Media in Crop Production', 'Prospect of Web Portal/Site' and 'Utilisation of Mobile Phone Technology' in crop production were delivered in the seminar.
Deputy director of AIS Dr Jahangir Alam, agriculture information and communication specialist for Dhaka Region of IAIS Project Maruf Masum and Rangpur regional director of AIS Abu Sayem delivered the presentations as resources persons.
The experts stressed for enhancing knowledge and expertise of the agriculture related officers on 'e-Agriculture' and capacity building for reaching necessary information at the farmers' doorsteps utilising the digitised ICT facilities easily in a hassle-free manner.
The farmers contribute maximum through enhancing agri- productions to ensure national food security by realising the Vision 2021 as envisioned by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina if they got the latest agro-technology at their doorsteps, they said.
They said the farmers have been getting their necessary information on agriculture from the digitised Union Information Service Centres set up under the UNDP assisted Access to Information Programme of the Prime Minister's Office everywhere in the country.
The farmers would easily get tremendous benefits of 'e-Agriculture' like proper managements of crops, pesticides, crop diseases, nutrition of crop plants, seed sowing periods, homestead and roof gardening, animal husbandry at their doorsteps, they said.
