Cold-tolerant Bri Dhan-118 to be released for haor region
Agriculture, Fisheries, and Livestock Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid said on Saturday that the government will release the cold-tolerant Bri Dhan-118 rice variety for the haor region in the coming season to help farmers plant and harvest earlier and reduce losses from flash floods.
The government was prioritising research-based agricultural development to address the threat posed by climate change to agricultural production, he told reporters after a meeting with officials from departments and agencies under the two ministries at Cumilla Circuit House.
The minister said the new variety would let farmers harvest before flash floods struck the haor region, reducing potential losses.
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He also said a new salt-tolerant rice variety would be released next year, adding that scientists at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute were developing crop varieties capable of withstanding the effects of climate change.
Responding to a question about fish exports, Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid said the government was seriously considering exporting fish through the Cumilla land port.
"Necessary steps will be taken after discussions with the commerce minister," he said.
The minister also said the feasibility of establishing a fish landing station in the Cumilla region would be assessed.
"A decision will be made once suitable government land is available," he said.
He said consumers generally preferred fresh freshwater fish and that the government was therefore prioritising modern marketing infrastructure alongside preservation facilities.
Regarding vaccine production for the livestock sector, the minister said the government was undertaking a major project to expand the existing vaccine production centre.
Once implemented, the project would increase domestic production of poultry and livestock vaccines, reduce reliance on imports, and strengthen the livestock sector, he added.
Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid said canal re-excavation programmes under the Ministry of Agriculture and its agencies were progressing within the stipulated timeframe, and he expressed hope that the government would achieve its full target next year.
Addressing the recent floods, he said seeds and other agricultural inputs had been distributed among affected farmers.
He added that free livestock vaccination programmes were also conducted in flood-affected upazilas to prevent disease outbreaks during the post-flood period.
Md Khorshed Alam, joint secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture; Rozi Akhter, deputy commissioner; Md Obaidur Rahman Mondal, director of the Department of Agricultural Extension; and Md Anwar Hossain, director of the Chattogram Divisional Fisheries Department, attended the meeting at Cumilla Circuit House.
Senior officials of the departments of agricultural extension, fisheries and livestock in the Cumilla region, alongside leaders of the BNP and its affiliated organisations, were also present at the meeting.
