Chalan Beel is a wetland in the Sirajganj, Natore and Pabna districts of Bangladesh. It is a large inland depression, marshy in character, with rich flora and fauna. Forty-seven rivers and other waterways flow into the Chalan Beel. While the government has taken initiatives to use automated technologies like AI, artificial intelligence, robotics and IoT in agriculture and make farmers cashless, the state minister for Posts, Telecommunication and Information Technology Zunaid Ahmed Palak is walking the path of creating ‘smart farmers’ in the use of automatic technology among grassroots farmers to make the country self-sufficient in food and to build a cashless agricultural society. As a part of this, he has undertaken the ‘Chalan Beel Development Project’ worth 4 thousand crore taka.
Palak, the local Member of Parliament inaugurated this project being connected virtually from Dhaka on Wednesday. He said that Agriculture and Fisheries Research Institute will be constructed in the Beel. State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak has also distributed agricultural machinery at subsidized prices to the small and marginal farmers of Singra being connected online with Directorate of Agriculture Extension from Dhaka to Singra Upazila Parishad Hall in Natore.
While speaking as the chief guest at the event, Palak said, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu’s lifelong dream was to put smiles on the faces of the farmers and laborers of this country. The Prime Minister has succeeded in the economic liberation struggle of Bangabandhu. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has put a smile on the faces of farmers. Agriculture and Fisheries Research Institute will be constructed in the area for the benefit of agriculture and farmers. At one time, a solo farmer will be able to maintain a large farm using automated farming technology. In the near future we may see remote controlled driverless agricultural machinery among our farmers. ICT Advisor Sajeeb Wazed Joy guided us to take up smart agriculture projects so that we can not only be users of these futuristic technologies but also invent them ourselves. As per that directive, now we are trying to introduce our farmers to cashless transactions. Apart from the digging of 300 km of canals, we have taken up Tk 4,000 crores for the ‘Chalan Beel Development Project’. The main objective of this project is to ensure the prosperity of agriculture and farmers of Chalan Beel by preserving the natural beauty and biodiversity of Chalan Beel. Our Chalan Beel is well known throughout the world as a grain store and a fish store. As a result, the current account rich in crops, natural resources are getting richer day by day. Along with mechanization, it is time to use automated technologies like AI, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and IoT in our agriculture.
In the event, agricultural machinery worth about 81 lakh 67 thousand taka including 4 combined harvesters, 10 maize shellers, 6 rice transplanters, and 7 power sprayers were handed over to the farmers of Singra in Chalan Beel under the Agricultural Mechanization Project.
UNO of Singra, Ha-meem Tabassum Probha presided over the event while Upazila Agricultural Officer, Agriculturist Khandokar Farid; Upazila Parishad Vice Chairman Shamima Akhter Rozi; Singra Diabetic Association General Secretary Maulana Ruhul Amin and others were present.
