Policy for good agricultural practices needs to be executed: Razzaque
The good agricultural practices (GAP) policy needs to be implemented quickly to increase the export of agricultural products, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said today.
The minister said the government has already taken many steps to increase the export of agricultural products. Formulation of "Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Policy 2020" is one of the major steps, he said.
"This GAP needs to be implemented across the country quickly," the minister said while speaking virtually at a meeting of the steering committee for the implementation of the GAP policy.
Razzaque, also a presidium member of Awami League, said to this end, officials, farmers, exporters and other stakeholders need to be involved and trained.
For the time being, pilot or experimental implementation work has to be started on a priority basis in the areas from which vegetables and fruits are most likely to be exported, he added.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), GAP is a "collection of principles to apply for on-farm production and post-production processes, resulting in safe and healthy food and non-food agriculture products, while taking into account economic, social and environmental sustainability".
Stressing the need for implementation of GAP policy, Agriculture Secretary Md Saidul Islam, who presided over the meeting, said that to make agriculture profitable, agricultural products have to be export-oriented.
"GAP must be complied with to enter the international market for agricultural products. With this in mind, we are working hard to implement this policy. Implementation work is in progress."
In the meeting, the officials concerned highlighted the progress of implementation of the policy.
They informed that the responsibility for the implementation of this policy has already been delegated institutionally by formulating a time-bound action plan. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) has been nominated as a scheme owner.
In addition, a steering committee, technical committee and certification committee consisting of various stakeholders have been formed to manage the GAP policy.
Additional Secretary of agriculture ministry Md Abdur Rauf, Kamala Ranjan Das, Md Ruhul Amin Talukder, Hasanuzzaman Kallol, Abdullah Sajjad NDC, BARC Chairman Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Director General Md Benojir Alam, other heads of organisations and members of the steering committee were present in the meeting.
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