RANGPUR: Agriculture experts at a training course here have laid importance on attaining self- reliance on production of quality seeds of rice and other crops to increase production for attaining sustainable food security.

They put special emphasis on developing own technologies for production, preservation and management of quality crop seeds, to reduce dependency on others, especially multi-national companies, in meeting farmers’ seed demand.

Rangpur zonal office of Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) organised the training course on “Boro Rice Seed Production Technology’ for its contract growers at its Alamnagar Seed Production Centre in the city on Saturday.

Joint Director of BADC Agriculturist Md Kabirul Islam presided over the training course participated by 30 contract growers of BADC from all over Rangpur zone.

Additional General Manager of BADC from Dhaka Agriculturist Biswas Kutub Uddin, Joint Director (Rangpur Zone) Agriculturist AKM Saiful Islam, Deputy Director (Contract Growers) Agriculturist Mortuza Rashed Iqbal and Deputy Director (Vegetables Seed Farm) Agriculturist Asaduzzaman Khan conducted the training course.  Terming agriculture and quality seeds the most important global issues, the experts said the country must develop its own technologies to attain self- reliance on quality seed production for ensuring a long-term food security despite changing climate.

Agriculturist Mortuza Rashed Iqbal stressed conducting more research on innovation of time-befitting seeds and agriculture technologies to keep agriculture production rising for ensuring food security under any situation.

Agriculturist Biswas Kutub Uddin said we must develop our own seed and agriculture technologies through conducting continuous research works to meet our own seed demand.