A discussion in Rajshahi has called for a central task force and tighter field monitoring to stop the spread of counterfeit, adulterated, illegal and unapproved farm inputs. The call came from farm-sector representatives, government officials, members of the police and journalists.
The meeting was held on Sunday, 11 October, at the Department of Agricultural Extension in Rajshahi, organised by the Bangladesh Agricultural Journalists Forum (BAJF) and Syngenta Bangladesh Limited. Professor Gopal Das of the entomology department at Bangladesh Agricultural University presented the keynote, and Mohammad Shahidul Islam, director of corporate affairs and sustainability at Syngenta, led the main discussion.
Speakers said such inputs cause farmers financial losses and threaten farm output, food security, the environment and the wider economy, and that government and private bodies, the media and farmers must tackle the problem together.
The chief guest, Rajshahi district council administrator Advocate Md Ershad Ali Isha, said cheating farmers with fake and adulterated inputs harms the national interest. Alongside law enforcement, he called for regular awareness programmes at district and upazila level and stronger public-private partnership.
The meeting stressed four steps: a central task force, closer market supervision, legal action against offenders, and training for farmers and input sellers.
Regional assistant seed certification officer Abu Sadat Mohammad Toab chaired the meeting, and Sabina Yasmin, additional superintendent and spokesperson of Rajshahi district police, was the special guest. Representatives of the Rajshahi agricultural information office, local journalists' bodies and the Rajshahi chamber also spoke. Reported by Desh Rupantor's Rajshahi correspondent.
Photo: T. R. Shankar Raman / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Desh Rupantor
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