Canadian university opens regional agricultural research office in Dhaka

A regional office of the Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS), a research organization of the Canadian University of Saskatchewan, has been opened in Dhaka to help agricultural researchers across the country acquire advanced knowledge and skills.

The office was opened at the premises of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council in the Farmgate area today.

Usually GIFS works with partners to discover, develop and deliver innovative solutions for sustainable food production on a global scale.

In Bangladesh, this center will help agricultural researchers gain advanced knowledge and skills to tackle challenges posed by agriculture, including climate change.

At the opening of the center, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said the Saskatchewan region has a global reputation for versatile and quality agri-food production.

“As a result of opening this office in Dhaka, their technology and experience can be used. Cooperation between Bangladesh and Canada in the field of agriculture will be further strengthened, ”he said.

Razzaque also reiterated that during the term of the current government, unimaginable successes have been achieved in agricultural production in the country.

“But there are many challenges in the future to support and increase the growth of agricultural production. The regional office of GIFS will play an important role in meeting these challenges and making food security sustainable,” he added. .

Virtually joining the groundbreaking ceremony, David Marit, Minister of Agriculture for the Government of Saskatchewan, said the creation of the office would further strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of agriculture.

“We must work together to meet the food needs of a growing population and make food security sustainable. To this end, the two countries will work together,” he added.

An agreement was also signed between GIFS-Canada and BARC on today’s show on establishing the office. BARC Executive Chairman Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar and GIFS COO Stephen Visscher signed the agreement on behalf of their organizations.

Meanwhile, Md Mesbahul Islam, Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture; Benoit Préfontaine, Canadian Ambassador to Dhaka; Khalilur Rahman, Ambassador of Bangladesh to Canada; Bangabandhu Research Chair at GIFS Andrew Sharpe; Baljit Singh, vice-president (research) at the University of Saskatchewan; and Md Ruhul Amin Talukder, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, also spoke on the show.

Earlier on February 10, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council and the World Institute for Food Security to establish the Bangabandhu Research Chair and GIFS regional office in Dhaka and the Center for Bangabandhu-Pierre Trudeau agricultural technology.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the Bangabandhu Chair of GIFS-Canada has already been set up. In addition, a biotechnology project, jointly funded by the Bangladesh Krishi Gobeshona Foundation (KGF) and GIFS-Canada, has already been approved by the KGF Board of Directors.

Another project on the establishment of the Bangabandhu-Pierre Trudeau Agricultural Technology Center is being prepared at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute with funding from GoB. GIFS-Canada will provide technical assistance for the implementation of the project, the ministry said in a statement.