The seventh D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security will begin virtually on Wednesday.
The two-day ministerial-level meeting of D-8 (Developing Eight), an alliance of developing countries, will be organised by the Ministry of Agriculture.
“The meeting will be held virtually due to coronavirus pandemic,” Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said while addressing a virtual press briefing Tuesday.
Bangladesh is the incumbent president of D-8 Forum and that is why the conference is very important as a part of South-South cooperation, he said.
Besides, the agriculture minister said, Bangladesh is now the president of Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF) too. The meeting will discuss climate smart agriculture promotion, so it is very important, he added.
He said the main topic of the meeting this year is “Agriculture and Food Security: Development of Climate Smart Agriculture”.
Razzaque said cooperation on various issues, including agricultural production and increasing productivity, joint agricultural research, mechanisation, agro-processing, blue economy, fertiliser production, seeds, animal feed, value chain development, training and capacity building will also be discussed in the meeting.
Agriculture and food ministers along with secretaries and other senior officials from the alliance's member states — Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Malaysia, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey — will join the high-level meeting, he said.
Besides, the agriculture minister said, the representatives of different international organisations, including Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) will participate in the meeting.
Replying to a question, Razzaque said the production of rice is increasing in the country every year and there is enough rice available in the market.
“But we have to remember that at present, the price of wheat has increased in global market. Once the price of wheat increases, rice price will go up. There are 10 lakh Rohingyas in the country. About 22-24 lakh new faces are adding every year to (the country's total population)...the price of rice is a little bit high due to these reasons and inflation. But, at this moment, there is no food crisis in the country," he said.
Agriculture Secretary Md Sayedul Islam and Additional Secretary Md Ruhul Amin Talukder were present at the press briefing.
