Farming Future Bangladesh hosts programme to take agri biotechnology forward

Farming Future Bangladesh hosted a programme to launch a forum that will serve as an effective advocacy platform in Bangladesh to raise awareness about biotechnology and make the current regulatory framework more effective and functional.

The science and evidence-based comprehensive communication and community engagement organisation organised the programme "Take Agribiotechnology Forward: Policy Advocacy Coalition" on Tuesday in Dhaka where many from various institutions, academia, sectoral specialists and representatives from the private sector, scientists, environmentalists, and lawyers attended, according to a press release.

At the programme it was said the proposed alliance will help connect and engage experts, enthusiasts, academics, students and scientists interested in promoting science and biotechnology to help change the existing regulatory system, and to create a more enabling environment for science to flourish.

As chief guest, Md Ruhul Amin Talukder, additional secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, spoke on utilising agribiotechnology to ensure food and nutrition security, and combating the effects of climate change.

"Bangladesh's agricultural successes should be acknowledged and celebrated but we must develop more high-yielding and sustainable crop varieties. Bangladesh is in the third phase of agricultural transformation. To go with this wave, speed breeding is the initiative demanded of the times and agri-biotechnology is one of the technologies that can help us achieve the SDGs," he added.  

"We need to prioritise embracing innovative technologies like gene editing and genetic engineering to create high-yielding, stress-tolerant crops. We also need to involve more policymakers in this kind of initiative," he said.

Farming Future Bangladesh's CEO Md Arif Hossain said, "Agricultural biotechnology has helped farmers lower their production costs over the past few decades while also improving food quality and quantity around the world. The insect-resistant Bt brinjal is the only genetically modified crop that Bangladesh has so far accepted."

Former secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and associate director of Farming Future Bangladesh Anwar Faruque said, "With the adoption of biotech crops being developed by Bangladeshi scientists, like BT brinjal, BT cotton, potato resistant to blight and Golden Rice that is vitamin A-enriched, farmers and consumers can be benefitted."

Md Abdul Kader of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute presented the existing challenges faced by Golden Rice, while Faruq Hasan of Farming Future Bangladesh presented the existing rules and regulations of the biosafety regulatory process.