The Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) has dug and re-excavated 11,402 km of canals of various classes across the country in 15 years, Agriculture Minister Md Abdus Shahid has said.

He said the digging and re-excavation of canals has played a groundbreaking role in removing waterlogging over wide areas, expanding irrigation and increasing crop production on the farmland concerned.

He gave the information in parliament on Tuesday (2 July) in reply to a written question from MP Moshtaq Ahmed Ruhi. Speaker Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury presided over the session.

Replying to a question from MP Nurunnabi Chowdhury, Md Abdus Shahid said Bangladesh produced 196,071 tonnes of pulses in FY2008-09, and output rose nearly fivefold to 1,008,047 tonnes in FY2022-23.

Outlining steps taken to raise pulse production, the minister said the government is providing various kinds of support for modern research to develop high-yielding varieties and for rapid extension of the technologies developed to farmers. For example, the ongoing PARTNER project is developing human resources for world-class research, modern research facilities, and supply of quality seed to farmers.

He said research on developing and extending pulses is also being strengthened through a development project of the Regional Pulses Research Centre, Madaripur, and a collaborative project with GIFS, Canada. To raise pulse output, BADC is implementing a project from April 2020 to December 2025 titled "Modernisation of the pulse and oilseed multiplication farm at Subarnachar upazila in Noakhali district and seed production and processing through contract growers". Through it, 52 tonnes of high-yielding pulse seed were produced in FY2022-23.

The agriculture minister also said the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) is encouraging farmers to grow pulses such as mashkalai and khesari on char areas and uncultivated fallow land. A project on producing and managing quality pulse, oil and spice seed at farm level has now been proposed, under which 10,000 tonnes of quality seed could be produced through 28,750 demonstrations of various pulse crops.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.