Massive commercialisation through technological advancement is needed to make agriculture lucrative for the youths of the South Asian region, experts on Saturday during a webinar observed.
They said low productivity as well as returns from traditional agriculture hardly could encourage youths in the farm sector without which expected economic growth is not being achieved.
The observation came at the virtual conference styled "Youth Engagement in South Asia Agriculture: Drivers of Entrepreneurship Development”, organised by Economic Development Research Organisation in collaboration with Syngenta and the Daily Banik Barta.
The webinar also revealed that the contribution of farm sector to the South Asian countries' GDP has been shrinking despite the involvement of the majority population in agriculture.
Dr Ahsan H Mansur, executive director, Policy Research Institute (PRI), Moushumi Shrestha, director, ShreenagarAgro Farms, Nepal, Dr Dilini Hemachandra, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka, and Mendu Srinivas, founder and mentor, Social Advancement Ventures Foundation, India spoke as panel discussants.
Md Tanjil Hossain associate professor of Economics, Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University and Executive Director, EDRO chaired while Dr Suresh Babu, head of Capacity Strengthening and Senior Research Fellow, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, USA presented the keynote.
Md Helal Ahmmed Jony, research associate, EDRO, Bangladesh moderated the webinar.