The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Rangpur

Agriculture experts at a training course today expressed their confidence that the country could achieve self-reliance in production of all variety crops, including high-valued crops using the latest technology.

They also underscored the need for increasing production of high-valued crops, fruits, vegetables, oil seeds and spicy crops with a view to reducing dependence on import of foodgrains, edible oils and spices and saving huge hard-earned foreign exchange.

They said this in the course organised by the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) under the ongoing North-west Crop Diversification Project (NCDP) at Motherhat Growers' Market in Ramnathpur Union under Pirganj Upazila to disseminate the latest agro-technology among the farmers.

Chaired by Pirganj UNO Rezanur Rahman, the course was attended by Deputy Director of DAE, Rangpur Kamal Shariful Alam as the chief guest.

Assistant Director of NCDP Project Anwarul Haque and Upazila Agriculture Officer Mokbul Hossain were present as special guests, and farmers from allover the UP took part in the training course.

The speakers said that the region produces huge surplus quantity of major crops like rice, potato, vegetables, maize, fruits and has tremendous potentialities for increasing productions of the same further.

They said the government's efforts for poverty alleviation would be accelerated further, with small and marginal farmers achieving self- reliance, if every inch of land all around could be brought under crop farming.

The experts stressed the need for encouraging the small and marginal farmers and common people to produce more high-valued crops by providing them need-based training, latest available technologies and necessary inputs to make the initiative successful.

They suggested the farmers and agro-officials that mixed and inter- cropping methods of crop farming could be very effective for increasing productions of all variety high-valued crops, including spicy crops as those could be cultivated under shadows, homesteads and everywhere.

They said an increased production of the major crops and all other high-valued crops under the NCDP programme would definitely strengthen country's rural economy if all of the small and marginal farmers and common people were involved with the campaign.