Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque inaugurated the fair. It was organised for the second time as a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Agriculture and Department of Agricultural Extension’s ‘farm mechanisation’ project.
A procession was taken out from the south plaza of Parliament and ended at the KIB premises. A seminar was then held at the KIB auditorium. Razzaque joined the seminar as the chief guest, while Agriculture Secretary Md Nasiruzzaman was the special guest. DAE (second stage) project Director Sheikh Md Nizam Uddin inaugurated the seminar.
The keynote speech was delivered by Professor Dr Md Monjurul Alam of the farm power and machinery department of Bangladesh Agricultural University. A discussion was conducted on the journal by former Planning Commission member and BAU Professor Emeritus Dr MA Sattar Mondol.
Representing the inventors, farmer Anower Hossain explained some of his effective farm-mechanisation tools that he invented and talked about problems, prospects and future projects.
At the fair, the minister said that the government has always considered agriculture as the fundamental and most important sector. “We always took initiatives for the development of agriculture and farmers,” he said.
Razzaque said the government has already achieved many of its agro-related targets announced in its manifesto.
“We have to ensure mechanisation in our agriculture to maximise the results just like the developed countries that practiced and implemented farm-mechanisation,” he said.
Secretary Nasiruzzaman asked the local inventors and companies to invent new and unique machineries instead of depending on import. He said the government will provide incentive to the agricultural sector in the next budget.
The fair will remain open for everyone till from 9am to 9pm until April 27.