The six-day long 'Third Nagar Krishi Mela' began in the capital in adjacent area of Rajdhani High School at Agargaon on Saturday for the third year in a row with the aim of motivating the city dwellers and distributing materials to ensure safe food.
The fair powered by BRAC Nursery and Arang Dairy organized by Nagar Krishi Foundation with the theme of 'safe food and sustainable development of environment, need for safe expansion of urban agriculture' will continue till December 19.
Vice-Chancellor of Sher E-Bangla Agricultural University Professor Dr. Abdul Latif inaugurated the fair as the chief guest while associate director of BRAC Seed and Agro Enterprise Mohammad Azizul Haque, director general of Agriculture Extension Department Saiful Alam Ruhul , Chairman of Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation Amin Khan, former agriculture secretary Anwar Faruq, chief conservator of Forests Amir Hossain Chowdhury were present as special guests.
Professor Dr. Abdul Latif said that such arrangement at the capital will contribute to ensuring safe food.
Chairman of the horticulture department of Sher E Bangla Agricultural University Professor Dr. Abul Hasnat M. Sulaiman presided over the opening ceremony of the fair.
A total of 80 stalls including Brack Nursery and Arang Dairy are participating in the fair. It includes 30 nurseries, 20 urban agriculture entrepreneurs, 3 NGOs, 10 service providers, 10 public-private organisations, 5 social groups with food corners and urban agriculture corners.
Apart from the fair, this event will have various activities every day. Seminar on Use and Importance of Bio-pesticides conducted by BRAC Enterprises will be there while Ispahani Agro and Nagar Krishi Foundation will jointly organize a seminar titled 'Role of Organic Pesticides in Urban Agriculture in Safe Crop Production' in the morning session on Sunday (15 December).
Activities for school boys and girls on environment, agriculture and wildlife quiz competition, tree introduction, painting, training will be arranged on December 16 while there will be a workshop on the modern knowledge of flower king rose cultivation in the morning session and a green army of tomorrow, children's painting, children's cultural performance about trees will be organised in the afternoon session on the same day.
A workshop on the immense role of urban agriculture in protecting the mental and physical health of the city's senior citizens and in the afternoon on Tuesday (17 December) morning while a seminar on the importance and role of bees in the city's rooftop garden and ecosystem will be held by BRAC Enterprises on the same day. On Wednesday (18 December), Priyajan Mushroom Foundation and Nagar Krishi Foundation will jointly organize a workshop on the immense potential of mushroom urban agriculture as vegetable food and medicine.
On the last day of the fair on Thursday (19 December), Nagar Krishi Foundation will organize 'Green Club and Green Schooling Outline Presentation' in the morning session and cultural programme, raffle draw and closing ceremony of the fair will be held in the afternoon session.
BRAC Nursery will introduce different easy to set vertical garden modules for urban agriculture.