The SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC), Bangladesh, organized a coordination meeting on Saturday to identify regional potential joint programs and areas of cooperation for 2027.

The heads and senior representatives from various national and international organizations joint the meeting, held at the SAC office in KhamarBari, Dhaka,

The SAC Director Dr. Md. Harunur Rashid chaired the event. Representatives from institutions working across agriculture, food systems, rural development, livestock, fisheries, environment, and community-centric development attended the session.

Speaking at the event, Dr. Md. Harunur Rashid emphasized the need for stronger integrated cooperation among government, private, and development partner institutions to tackle the growing challenges facing South Asia’s agricultural and food systems.

"Effective and sustainable change for farmers and rural communities can be achieved by sharing knowledge and experience, scaling up technologies and innovations, and jointly implementing programs," Dr. Rashid stated, adding that partner cooperation is crucial to making agricultural systems in SAARC member nations more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive.

Detailed discussions focused on mapping potential joint initiatives and collaborative efforts between the SAC and partner organizations for 2027. Participants shared their respective institutional priorities, expertise, and ongoing projects.

The dialogue highlighted strong potential for collaboration in sustainable agriculture, agroecology, food and nutrition security, climate resilience, livestock and fisheries development, agricultural value chains, rural livelihoods, skill development, and technology transfer.

Participating entities included senior representatives from Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) Bangladesh, Heifer International Bangladesh, HarvestPlus, Sustainable Agriculture Foundation Bangladesh, ACI, Spectra Hexa Feeds Limited, RSB Properties Limited, SHISUK, WAVE Foundation, Gram Unnayan Karma (GUK), Welthungerhilfe, TMSS, Climate Action Network South Asia, Fishtech Hatchery, Route Agrovet, Sushilan, and Niribili Group.

Expressing keen interest in deepening mutual cooperation for 2027, the participating organizations voiced optimism that practical and impactful joint initiatives will contribute significantly to building sustainable and inclusive agricultural systems across the SAARC region.