The government has created 284 new posts for agriculture engineers as part of improving the farm mechanisation process, Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said on Sunday.
He said the engineers would work under the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) to upgrade the farm mechanisation of the country.
The minister said this at a discussion on the eve of Agriculturists' Day, organised by the BAU Alumni Association, held at the Shilpacharya Zainul Abedin Auditorium of Bangladesh Agricultural University, said a press release.
Vice-chancellor of BAU Prof Dr Lutful Hasan presided over the discussion, while Dr AKM Zakir Hossain, student affairs advisor to BAU, presented the keynote paper.
Agricultural engineers are usually involved in solving problems related to the efficiency of machinery, power supplies, use of structures and facilities, pollution and environmental issues, the storage and processing of agricultural products and so on.
Agriculture minister said the present government had taken a number of steps to modernise the agricultural sector and make farming profitable for the peasantry.
Prioritising agricultural mechanisation, a project worth over Tk 30 billion had been undertaken, he added.
“The role of agriculturists in farm education, agricultural research and agricultural expansion of the country is universally recognised today”, the minister said.
The agriculturists also contribute to the development by inventing new technologies and techniques in the various fields of agriculture, he said.
"Agriculturists need to play a more effective and vigorous role in coming days to maintain a sustainable food supply for the growing population", the minister said.
"Technology must be invented, developed and expanded through research timely", he added.
State Minister for Cultural Affairs KM Khalid, lawmaker Sahadara Mannan, Mymensingh City Corporation Mayor Ikramul Haque Titu, agriculture senior secretary Md Mesbahul Islam, food secretary Dr Moshammat Nazmanara Khanum, fisheries and livestock secretary Raunak Mahmud, BAU Alumni Association’s executive president Md Hamidur Rahman, its general secretary Badiuzzaman Badsha, spoke, among others, in the programme.
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