Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury yesterday called for expediting the formation of Saarc seed bank, which could ensure vital seed supplies to the member countries in crisis periods following natural disasters.
Ensuring supply of quality seeds is important, because it is a matter of survival, not only of trade, she told the inaugural session of a two-day annual meeting of Saarc Seed Forum.
Saarc Agriculture Centre organised the programme at Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC) auditorium in the capital.
Members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (Saarc) signed an agreement on Saarc seed bank at the 17th Saarc summit in the Maldives last year.
The venue for the seed bank or its mode of operation is yet to be decided.
Matia Chowdhury said, “A database of seed varieties is also vital”. It could help develop new varieties, she added.
Quality seeds are crucial for better productivity, and therefore the South Asian nations must come together and collaborate with each other to ensure food security and above all make sure that farmers' interests are protected.
“Seed is a matter of survival, not only of trade”, the minister told agriculture researchers and officials from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.
Additional Agriculture Secretary Anwar Faruque said the food habits, farming systems and challenges facing the South Asian nations were almost the same.
These countries go through natural disasters, have big populations, but lack resources, while climate change is aggravating the scenario, he said.
“In this context, what is important is exchange of technologies--either seeds, land management or irrigation practices”, said Faruque, also director general of the ministry's seed wing.
He said that at present flood-tolerant and salinity tolerant rice varieties were very important. If India develops these varieties, those could be shared, he added.
And in such cases Bangladesh does not need to conduct researches for years, but can benefit from Indian varieties, Faruque, also convener of Saarc Seed Forum, said.
Dr Malavika Dadlani of India's Agriculture Research Institute, Saarc Agriculture Centre Director Dr Abul Kalam Azad and Saarc Seed Forum Member Secretary Dr Mazmul Huda also spoke at the meeting.