Agriculture Minister Dr Md. Abdus Shahid said climate change is a key challenge to sustainable food security.

The importance of agriculture is immense for the food security of the country's 17 crore people. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the present government has achieved tremendous success in food security and agricultural production due to its agriculture-friendly policies, he said.

The minister was speaking at an international seminar on climate change, food security and challenges in sustainable agriculture in Bangladesh at Hotel Amari in the capital on Tuesday.

The Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an organization of international agricultural research institutes, organized the event.

Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. Climate change will pose a direct risk to future food production, especially rice production; It can have a negative impact on rice production. Considering these issues, the present government is working on a priority basis to combat the adverse effects of climate change. The government's goal is to build a sustainable, safe and profitable agricultural system, said the minister.

Presided over by Prof Lutful Hassan, member of the expert poll of the Ministry of Agriculture, the function was addressed, among others, by Homnath Bhandari, Bangladesh Representative of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), Dau Da An, Senior Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam, Phelloun Chan, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Cambodia and Björn Ole Sander, Senior Scientist of IRRI.

A total of 50 delegates from 17 countries are participating in the seminar.