Scientists of Korea and Bangladesh are working jointly under a project to develop
modern farm machinery and research capacity along with a cold tolerant rice variety.
BRRI has already been provided with a number of facilities for that including a ricebreeding laboratory (molecular laboratory) and cold-tolerant rice screening protocols,
manual carrier, harvesting machines, power weeder, rice mill, direct seeding machines
and crop cutting machines.
For the completion of the project, a modern research workshop building was built at
the Farm Machinery and Post-harvest Technology Division premises in Bangladesh
Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in Gazipur. Korean International Cooperation Agency
(KOICA) is providing the necessary support in this regard.
Detailed information of the progamme was presented at the completion seminar of the
KOICA assisted project held at the BRRI auditorium on Monday.
Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Md Anwarul Islam Sikder, ndc,
was the chief guest in the seminar. Korean counselor and Deputy Chief of Mission to
Bangladesh Kim Hyun-Joo was the guest of honour and the resident representative of
KOICA Kim Bok-Hee was the special guest while BRRI Director General Dr Md Syedul
Islam in the chair. BRRI Director (Admin) Dr Jiban Krishna Biswas also spoke on the
occasion.
A Principal Scientific Officer of Farm Machinery and Post-harvest Technology Division
of BRRI Dr Md Durrul Huda and Dr Partha Sarathi Biswas, PSO, BRRI Plant Breeding
Division, presented the key note paper in the seminar. Korean mechanisation specialist
Hakkyu Kim also presented a paper on agricultural machinery.
Scientists, extension agents, experts, university professors were among the
representatives from different government and non-government organizations who
attended the workshop. They took part in the threadbare discussion about the research,
development and maintenance of farm machinery. Scientists and concerned officers of
BRRI have already taken training in Korea about the related technologies.
BRRI Director General Dr Md Saidul Islam said, it is the demand of time to use modern
machinery in agriculture. To fulfill that demand, scientists of Korea and Bangladesh have
been working together. A number of screenings has been done to develop a cold tolerant
rice variety and it is very likely that it will usher a new era in developing farm machinery
in our country. –Our Correspondent, Gazipur
