Agro industries hold the key to economic recovery

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Utilising artificial intelligence and skilled manpower in Bangladesh's agro-based industry will be vital for ensuring a speedy monetary recovery and food security through the post-pandemic era, according to experts.

Besides, both public and private sector investment is required to expand agricultural production in the united states, they added.

During Eid-ul-Azha, held towards the end of July this season, people used digital platforms to create purchases from your home in a bid to avoid exposure to the rogue pathogen while the amount of inbound remittance sent through the state channels increased aswell, said Ahmad Kaikaus, principal secretary of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Kaikaus made the comments during a webinar styled 'Post COVID 19: Challenges & Opportunities for Entrepreneurship and Employment in Agro-based Industry', jointly organised by the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) and France Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFB) last Saturday.

The government is defined to implement a credit guarantee scheme for the agro-based industry, including aquaculture and livestock companies, to market entrepreneurship in the sector and help small and medium enterprises meet their credit needs, Kaikaus said.

Within the government's move to ramp up agricultural production, the prime minister previously approved a particular program for the food processing sector in order that agro-based industries make a larger contribution to economic growth, employment and export.

Bangladesh welcomes international collaboration, including foreign investment, for the study and development of its agro-based production and processing sectors, Kaikaus said, adding that the federal government believes in balanced trade cooperation between countries.

Meanwhile, BIDA Executive Chairman Md. Sirazul Islam reiterated his organisation's commitment to work alongside the many stakeholders of the agro-based industry to improve investment and employment in the sector.

BIDA will conduct policy dialogues, formulate action plans and facilitate the agro-industrial transformation in coordination with key stakeholders in both the government and private sector, he said.

In this regard, a high-level committee, headed by the PMO and coordinated by BIDA could be formed to advise on the development of agro-based production, processing, value addition and marketing, Islam added.

Since Bangladesh achieved independence, agriculture has played the most important role in providing food security, creating jobs, making income and reducing poverty in the united states, said CCIFB President Syed Mahmudul Huq.

Currently, the agriculture industry accounts for about 13 % of the total annual GDP while its share in employment generation is practically 40 %, indicating very low levels of productivity in the sector.

"The pandemic has further aggravated the problem by forcing workers who lost their jobs overseas or in the cities to come back to rural areas."

Whenever crisis strikes, as may be the current issue, the country returns to agriculture for both food and job security, Huq added.

Through the webinar, AKM Hafizullah Khan, project director for BIDA's Entrepreneurship & Skill Development Project, provided a synopsis of BIDA's initiatives to market employment and entrepreneurship.

The organisation want to carry out training programmes on regulatory regimes and business procedures to create skilled entrepreneurs across all 64 districts of the united states within the next 2 yrs in a bid to achieve the government's target of bringing up private investments to 34 % of the gross annual GDP, he added.

Sattar Mandal, an emeritus professor of Bangladesh Agriculture University, led discussions on the agro-based industry's broader role for the economy at the event.

He also spoke on the challenges to be faced by people looking to grab entrepreneurship or occupations in the post-pandemic period.

Fawzia Yasmeen, director of Ispahani Agro, needed the creation of an enabling environment for investments in digital or smart agriculture, internet-plus rural infrastructure and communication to improve knowledge intensity and efficiency in production and processing.

FH Ansarey, managing director and ceo of ACI's agribusiness, underscored the need to fortify the link between primary production, agro-processing and delivery of social, financial and technical services in rural areas.

Job opportunities in the sector must have a balanced mix in order that the modernisation of the sector goes together with employment generation, Moshiur Rahman, managing director of Paragon Group.

Md Saleh Ahmed, chairman of the KERNEL Foundation, and Shah Syed Kamal, chairman of the policy and advocacy sub-committee of CCIFB, spoke among others. 
Source: https://www.thedailystar.net

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