Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque has said no matter how much the country develops, the source of livelihood of the people will not increase if the agricultural sector does not develop.
He urged agriculture ministry officials to work to increase the production of nutritious and safe food, as a result of which people’s income will increase and bring about an expansion of industry in the country.
He made the statement at a meeting organised to bid farewell to Additional Secretary (administration) of the Ministry of Agriculture Md Arifur Rahman Apu on Sunday.
Dr Abdur Razzaque said, “Around 60-70% people of the country live in villages. Their income depends on agriculture. If their income does not increase, the local market will not develop. And if the local market does not develop, industry will not expand here.”
As a result of this, foreign investment will not come to our country, opined the minister.
He said, “To invest in a region, foreign investors first consider whether they can sell their products on the local market. They are not very interested in investing in only export-oriented goods.”
Addressing the officials, the agriculture minister said, “Our responsibility is to increase agricultural production as well as ensure nutritious and safe food. We have to be successful in this work. Our vast population, which is currently more than 16 crore, is the main challenge in this regard. We have to produce rice which is the staple food of this population.”
“In addition to that, we have been developing dairy and fish farms to produce milk, meat, eggs, and fish to ensure proper nutrition. We also have been cultivating corn for animal feed,” he added.
