Speakers at seminar here today urged concerned field level agricultural officials to acquire adequate knowledge on ‘e-Agriculture’ for reaching necessary information and services to thefarmers’ doorsteps for enhancing food production. They also underlined the need for ensuring easy access of the farmers to ‘e-Agriculture’ services utilising digitised information and communication technology (ICT)-based technologies to increase production in every agricultural sector for ensuring national food security.The observation came at the closing day’s session of a two-day seminar styled “Effect of e-Agriculture on Crop Production” held at the NCDP conference hall in the city. The Agriculture Information Service (AIS) under its Intensification of the Agriculture Information Service (IAIS-Second Revised) Project in ten agricultural regions of the country organised the seminar.Deputy Director of Department of Agriculture Extension Hazrat Ali addressed the session as chief guest while Deputy Director (Mass Communications) of AIS Dr Jahangir Alam and its Agriculture Information and Communication Specialist Muhammad Maroof spoke as special guests with Anjan Kumar Barua, Director of IAIS Project, in the chair.Thirty officials of the DAE, Bangladesh Betar, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, Agricultural Marketing, Soil Resources Development Institute, District Livestock Department, representatives of NGOs and media joined the seminar.Some key issues like Initiative or Tools of ‘e-Agriculture Initiative’, ‘Role of Electronic Media in Crop Production’, ‘Prospect of Web Portal/Site’ and ‘Utilisation of Mobile Phone Technology’ in crop production were presented in the seminar.
The experts stressed for enhancing knowledge and expertise of the agriculture related officers on ‘e-Agriculture’ and capacity building for reaching necessary information at the farmers’ doorsteps utilizing the digitised ICT facilities easily in a hassle-free manner.The farmers contribute maximum through enhancing agri- productions to ensure national food security by realising the Vision 2021 as envisioned by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina if they got the latest agro-technology at their doorsteps, they said.They said the farmers have been getting their necessary information on agriculture from the Union Digital Centres set up under the UNDP assisted Access to Information Programme of the Prime Minister’s Office everywhere in the country.The farmers would easily get tremendous benefits of ‘e-Agriculture’ like proper managements of crops, pesticides, crop diseases, nutrition of crop plants, seed sowing periods, homestead and roof gardening,animal husbandry at their doorsteps, they added. -BSS, Rajshahi
