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Agriculture Minister MK Anwar asked the scientists of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) to develop appropriate varieties of rice to expand HYV cultivation in fair weather or foul, reports UNB
He also emphasized expansion of extension work of the developed varieties at the paddy fields of farmers, as vast acreage remained outside modern farming.
The Minister, also Convener of the Governing Body of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC), was presiding over the GB's meeting at its auditorium here Sunday.
A report was placed at the meeting that showed that some 70 per cent of the total paddy-crop area in the country is being brought under cultivation of the High-Yielding Varieties (HYV) of paddy developed by the BRRI.
The rest of the land is still out of farming modern varieties due to traditional practices, unsuitability and non-availability of drought-and flood-resistant appropriate HYV.
BRRI has so far developed 46 modern varieties of rice, including one hybrid, and developed 19 agricultural machinery and equipment, the meeting was informed.
Another report on the research mandate of Bangladesh Tea Research Institute was placed by BARC member Dr Jahangir Alam in which a set of 12 recommendations has been forwarded, including one for improving the quality and post- harvest technology of tea.
The Minister asked the concerned authorities to compare domestic yield with that of other tea-growing countries and make recommendation for increasing the yield to sustain on the global tea export market.
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