Make Cirdap centre of excellence in agrarian reform

Participants of Cirdap researchers' meeting pose with LGRD Adviser Anwarul Iqbal and other guests at the inaugural session of the meeting at Cirdap auditorium in the city yesterday.Photo: STAR

With a call to develop Cirdap (Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific) as the 'Centre of Excellence' in the field of agrarian reform, a two-day researchers' meeting began in the city yesterday.
Researchers from 14 member countries are taking part in the meeting titled 'Strategic and institutional perspectives of Cirdap: Revisiting its role in the changing context.'
At the meeting the consultant and researchers will interact on the basic approach, parameters and format of the country level study and finalise their design and methodology.
The objective of the meeting also includes identification of ways to develop Cirdap as an enabling centre to empower its member countries in their rural development efforts.
Inaugurating the meeting at Cirdap auditorium, Adviser for LGRD and Cooperatives ministry Anwarul Iqbal said despite remarkable achievements with regard to agriculture, rural development and poverty alleviation over the past few decades in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, it still holds nearly three-quarters of the world's poorest people.
He hoped that the researches would help reducing the gap of poverty and prosperity across the geographic regions, ethnic communities and gender groups.
Cirdap Director General Dr Durga P Paudyal said Cirdap policy bodies feel that there is a need to evaluate the Centre from its strategic and institutional perspective and identify its role in the changing context from the time of its establishment in 1979.
Secretary to Rural Development and Cooperatives Division Muhammad Nazrul Islam expressed the hope that concerted efforts by Cirdap and other similar organisations would facilitate the design and implementation of appropriate rural development policies for the benefit of the people of the region.
He said Japan has agreed to extend technical cooperation to Cirdap ahead of the next ministerial meeting that would be held in Dhaka in 2009.
Cirdap Consultant Dr S Narayan and its Research Director Dr Nasreen Khundkar also spoke on the occasion.
Earlier, the adviser launched a Cirdap publication titled 'Agrarian Reform and Rural Development: Sharing Experience from the Philippines'.