Experts for crop sector investment plan to face climate change challenges

Experts at a workshop today laid emphasis on developing the crop sector investment plan to face climate change challenges as Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries affected by global warming.

They said extreme weather events like heatwave, flooding and salinity intrusion have been affecting crop production in Bangladesh and that is why climate risks should be considered in preparing investment plan in the crop sector.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations(FAO),in collaboration with Ministry of Agriculture, organised the validation workshop on the Priority Investment Plan-Crop Sector (PIP-CS:2024-2030) at BARC conference room in Farmgate here.

Agriculture Secretary Wahida Akter, FAO Representative in Bangladesh Jiaoqun Shi, former Vice Chancellor of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Prof Dr Md Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan, former Secretary and Chairman of Bangladesh Krishi Bank Md Nasiruzzaman, Additional Secretary of the agriculture ministry Dr Maloy Chowdhury and Director General of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir, among others, spoke at the workshop with Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Dr Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar in the chair.

FAO's PIP technical team lead Bhaskar Goswami made a thematic presentation on the key areas of the Priority Investment Plan-Crop Sector (PIP-CS).

Speaking as the chief guest, Wahida Akter said: "We have been working together with FAO towards transforming the crop sector in Bangladesh to achieve the national development goals in implementation of the National Agricultural Policy."

Stressing the need for minimising crop loss, she said if the crop loss is reduced, the country's food security will be enhanced.

Citing the data of Bangladesh Meteorological Department, Nasiruzzaman said the country's temperature has increased 1.5 degree Celsius on average in the last 50 years.

Mentioning that heatwave is significantly affecting the country's agriculture, he said crop production has declined by 20-30 percent in north-western region of Bangladesh due to temperature rise, pointing out that a vast area of arable land remained fallow there due to scarcity of water.
 
Jiaoqun Shi, FAO Representative in Bangladesh, said: "FAO is happy to support the preparation of Priority Investment Plan for the crop sector, providing technical assistance under FAO's flagship Hand-in-Hand Initiative."

The workshop brought together multiple stakeholders including private sector, development partners, government, researcher, academia and civil society organisations, while key areas for potential investment in the crop sector were presented.

FAO is providing technical support to the government of Bangladesh in developing the Priority Investment Plan in the Crop Sector (PIP-CS) to identify potential investment areas and providing a platform under its Hand-in-Hand Initiative to bring together stakeholders to mobilise funding for an economically diversified and sustainable agriculture.

The PIP-CS was drafted in collaboration with a technical team set up by the Ministry of Agriculture comprising experts from relevant ministries, agencies, academia, and the private sector.
 
In preparation of this validation workshop, about 700 local stakeholders from the private sector, civil society, researcher, non-state actor and academia participated in regional consultations conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with FAO in Dhaka, Rajshahi, Barisal, Cumilla, Jashore, and Mymensingh in July and September 2022.

These consultations identified four priority investment areas: agro-processing, value addition and marketing; specialised, multipurpose cold storage, post-harvest management, supply chain management; irrigation and water management; and climate smart agriculture.

By prioritising these actions, the government of Bangladesh aims towards enhancing farmers' income, protecting consumer's health and the environment, enhancing growth in its agricultural sector and thereby contributes towards meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.