Saarc states plan to set up a regional seed bank to help farmers get quality seeds from the reserve in case of a shortage due to natural calamities.
Under the move, each member state of the Saarc bloc will take initiative to be self sufficient in seed to meet its own requirement and contribute to ensuring food security in the region.
Already a draft agreement to set up the 'Saarc Seed Bank' has been prepared. The agreement will be placed at a meeting of the agriculture ministers of the Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) states in June this year, said Anwar Faruque, director general of the Seed Wing of the agriculture ministry yesterday.
"We hope to place the draft of the agreement at the next Saarc summit after getting the nod of the agriculture ministers," he told The Daily Star at the Saarc Seed Congress & Fair 2011 in Dhaka.
The Seed Wing of the agriculture ministry, Bangladesh Seed Association and Saarc Agriculture Centre organised the three-day show at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre.
Agriculture scientists and experts from the Saarc countries are participating in the fair, focusing on the need for ensuring food for growing population of South Asia, one of the worst climate-hit region that faces frequent draughts, floods and cyclone.
Some 70 public and private organisations took part in the fair to display both high yielding and hybrid seeds of crops and vegetables with the objective to popularise the use of quality seeds.
The idea of establishing a regional seed bank came first at the 16th Saarc Summit in Thimphu, Bhutan last year when Bangladesh's Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina put forward the proposal to increase regional cooperation in agriculture to attain food security in South Asia.
Analysts say majority of the population in the region depend on agriculture and cooperation in ensuring quality seed for farmers will boost crop production.
According to the analysts, there are similarities in agro-climatic conditions and farming practices in the region, offering scope of deepening cooperation among the states for development and maintenance of harmonised seed system of the Saarc states.
Faruque said the Saarc seed bank will create opportunity for exchanging suitable and common varieties among the member states, establishing collaboration in the field of biotechnology, biosafety and genetic resources.
It will widen scope for sharing expertise and experience in technology, and help develop stress tolerant seed varieties.
"The seed bank is a good initiative. It will bring about good results if all member states cooperate," said Mohammad Masum, chairman of Supreme Seed Company, a leading seed seller.
He said harmonisation of rules and regulations may take place in the farm sector due to the establishment of the seed bank. It will enable increased trade in agriculture, Masum said.
GMW Chitral, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka, said the member states should identify common and suitable varieties to extend cooperation in the seed sector.
A common variety will facilitate exchange in case of a shortage in other countries due to calamities, he said.
US Singh, South Asia regional coordinator of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), said it takes about four months to exchange seeds between countries through IRRI.
The seed bank will help countries cooperate in exchanging those high yielding seeds that are already in the public domain and do not fall under intellectual property rights, he said.
"We can also think of releasing varieties jointly," he said. "This is a good beginning."