Prime Minister inaugurated the Bangabandhu-Pierre Trudeau Agricultural Technology Center
Realizing the importance of food security and political stability of the country, the East Pakistan Rice Research Institute (EPRRI) was established as an autonomous institution on October 1, 1970, with 76.82 hectares of land at Gazipur, which stands 36 km north of the capital Dhaka. After the victory of the Great War of Independence in 1971, the name was changed to Bangladesh Rice Research Institute- BRRI. BRRI has developed more than three hundred rice production technologies from here. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina inaugurated the Bangabandhu-Pierre Trudeau Agricultural Technology Center on Thursday to take this initiative a step further.
In his opening speech, he said that Bangladesh Rice Research Institute has already developed a total of 111 high-yielding rice varieties including 8 hybrids and more than three hundred rice production technologies. Among the varieties developed are flood, drought, waterlogging, salinity and cold tolerant; disease resistance, premium quality, zinc, iron and nutrient-riches are a few specialties of these rice varieties.
The Prime Minister said that now agricultural information is available from the Agricultural Information Center through mobile phones. In this way, the country is moving forward through the use of technology.
Sheikh Hasina also said that Bangladesh Rice Research Institute is not behind in any part of the world and international research institutes in terms of technology. I hope that with the celebration of Golden Jubilee, the institute will make more efforts to face new challenges in the field of rice research in the coming days and make more important contribution to build 'Smart Bangladesh' i.e. 'Golden Bangladesh', the lifelong dream of the father of the nation by sustaining the country's food security.
After the inauguration, he visited the innovations of the Bangabandhu-Pierre Trudeau Agricultural Technology Centre. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina unveiled five publications of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council in the second phase of the program.
Dr. Md. Abdur Razzaq, the Agriculture Minister presided over the event. Minister of State for Youth and Sports Zahid Ahsan Russell, Executive Director of Canada's Global Institute of Food Security (CEU), Dr. Stevin Webb, Director General of the International Rice Research Institute of the Philippines, Dr. Jain Balii, Executive Chairman of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Dr. Sheikh Mohammad Bakhtiar and Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture Wahida Akhter were present as special guests at the event.
