Bangladesh Agri Minister Encourages GM Research and Cultivation

Date:06-25-2013

During the inauguration of the International Conference on Biotechnology, Matia Chowdhury, the Bangladeshi Agriculture Minister, stressed the importance of Biotechnology for Agriculture, Fisheries, Livestock, Forestry, Food and Pharmaceuticals. She also emphasized on theneed for stress tolerant GM crops to cope with the effects of environmental disasters. Biotech can also enhance the efficiency of breeding for sustainable benefits, she added. The unraveling of genome sequence of jute and Macrophonina by Bangladeshi scientists was also appreciated by the Minister.



Dr. SK. Spoory, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi and Dr. Asis Datta, former VC,  also shared their research experiences on stress tolerance and nutritional enrichment in GM crops. There were 8 sessions attended by around 250 scientists from the country and abroad. The session was chaired by Dr. A. Majeed Khan, former Education Minister and President, Center of Action for Research Extension and Services.