Matia seeks FDI in farm sector
Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury yesterday called upon the foreign investors to invest in agriculture-based industries in Bangladesh. To make that happen, the government will remove all the barriers, she said.
The minister was speaking at a meeting organised by the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce & Industry (Ficci) at Dhaka Westin yesterday.
The government is trying to remove the barriers to investment in the country such as the scarcity of electricity and gas, poor infrastructure, dilapidated communication and law and order situation, said the minister.
The country's 73 percent people are still village based, she said, adding that agriculture has 20 percent contribution to gross domestic product (GDP).
The government has taken initiatives to update its agriculture policy, said Matia.
She said population of Bangladesh has doubled since the Liberation War in 1971. At the same time, food production tripled and the government is trying to make it four or fivefold.
She also said the government is concentrating now on the southern region of the country where plenty of lands are still unused.
Laurent Therond, acting president of Ficci, said Bangladesh needs huge FDI to meet the projected growth of the country. The government should speed up its decision making process, he said.
Rupali Chowdhury, executive committee member of the chamber, and MA Matin, executive director, were also present.
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