KBD Din Mohammed Dinu: Day long Regional Symposium on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization and Post harvest practices in Bangladesh held in Dhaka.
The post harvest loss of paddy at farm level is about 14% of which drying and storage losses are 3.5% and 6.2% respectively. Agricultural land is decreasing by 0.5% per year.
At present on-farm labour employment is about 43% of rural labour force and expected to be reduced to about 36% in 2020 and 20% in 2030.
A group of scientists said a day long Regional Symposium on Sustainable Agricultural Mechanization and Post Harvest Practices in Bangladesh was held at Lakeshore Hotel, Gulshan-2 in Dhaka Bangladesh on October 24, 2018 at 9 a.m.
Agricultural Mechanization and Post Harvest Practices in Bangladesh was held at Lakeshore Hotel, Gulshan-2 in Dhaka Bangladesh.
Feed the Future program and USAID, USA funded projects, Appropriate Scale Mechanization Innovation Hub (ASMIH), Post Harvest Loss Reduction Innovation Lab (PHLIL)-Bangladesh and Department of Farm power and Machinery of BAU jointly Organized the regional symposium.
The Appropriate Scale Mechanization Consortium(ASMC),ADM Institute for the prevention of postharvest loss at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Kansas state University and Bangladesh Agricultural University have partnered to the host the event.
Dr. Md. Shamsul Alam, Member (Senior Secretary General Economic division), Ministry of Planning was chief guest in the inaugural Session of the Symposium while Dr. Md. Ali Akbar Vice-chancellor of Bangladesh Agricultural University was Chief patron of the event. Dr. Alex Winter-Nelson,Director of ADMI, University of Illinois USA, Dr.Alan C. Hansen, Director of ASMC, University of Illinois USA, Dr. Prasanta K. Kalita, bangladesh Coordinator, ASMC,Dena Bunnel,Assistant Director, PHLIL Kansas State University were guest of honour in the symposium.
Professor Dr. Md. Monjural Alam, project Director and BAU professor presented Keynote paper on Appropriate Scale Mechanization and Post harvest loss reduction practices in Bangladesh and other technical papers were presented by scientists from Combodia, India and USA.
Professor Dr. K. M. Hasanuzzaman Dean Faculty of Agricultural Engineering and technology,BAU presided over the inaugural session. Welcome Address was delivered by Professor Dr. Md. Monjural Alam, Project Director of ASMIH, Bangladesh and Dena Bunnel, Professor Dr. Chayan Kumer Saha, Timothy j.Rendall of ASMC university of Illinois, USAl facilitated the stakeholder networking session on the occasion.Farmers Md Motaleb sardar and Khodeja begum also spoke the event.
Scientists of this symposium said, Bangladesh is the 3rd largest vegetable production, 4th largest rice production and inland water fish production,5th largest aquaculture fish production in the world.
Since independence the production of paddy has increased over three folds compared to double the production growth and affains self sufficiency in paddy production.
Organizer added appropriate scale mechanization of field crop, reduction of postharvest losses and value addition by Processing world have been the potential solutions of the challenges.
GoB, FAO-UN, NGO, Private Entrepreneur’s specially the Metal Agro Ltd, ACI, Educationist, Researchers, extension workers were participants of the Symposium.
