Lal Teer Seed, NSTU ink MoU to fight climate change impacts

Lal Teer Seed Limited and the Noakhali Science and Technology University (NSTU) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to research Bangladesh's sustenance amid climate change and other adversity.

The collaboration aims at identifying and developing superior crop varieties as well as other techniques in agriculture-related fields that already exist or have research potential.

Lal Teer Seed Limited, the first ISO 9001:2015 certified Research and Development-based seed company from the private sector in Bangladesh, signed the MoU with NSTU at the Westin in the Capital's Gulshan, recently.

Under the MoU, LaL Teer Seed and NSTU have agreed through bilateral cooperation to share mutual access to facilities, research opportunities and equipment. They would also undertake collaborative programs such as thesis research, "On-Farm" trials plus helping students improve their knowledge and professional skills.

Abdul Awal Mintoo, chairman of Lal Teer Seed, and Professor Dr Md Didar-ul-Alam, vice-chancellor of NSTU, signed and exchanged the agreement documents.

Highlighting the need to adopt updated knowledge of the field that has been accumulated through research in fighting climate change, Mintoo said, "Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to the threat of rising sea-levels. Our decades of research have enabled us to prepare for that real threat."

"But for it to be adopted, we need to collaborate and bring research to the academic sector which in-turn potentially enhances the research field while developing the skills of our students," he added.

Highlighting the need for nutrition analysis and its awareness among the masses the NSTU VC said, "Nutrition facts of perishable consumables, such as vegetables or fruits, are the most vital aspect of such research. The masses need to be made aware of the nutritional facts of the yields of our collaborative research."

Tajwar M Awal, director of Lal Teer Seed; alongside Dr Firoze Shah Sikder, Dr M Abdur Rashid, Md Ishtiaque Alam, Md Rafayet Alam, Dr Salina Sultana; the research team; Dr Gazi Md Mohsin, Professor and Chairman of NSTU Agriculture Department; Professor Dr Newaz Md Bahadur, and Dr Md Atikur Rahman were also present at the signing ceremony.