The Secretary General of SAARC Ambassador Md. Golam Sarwar visited today Dhaka-based SAARC Agriculture Centre (SAC) and received briefing on the Centre’s activities, accomplishments and future plans. SAC Director Dr. Md. Harunur Rashid and his team welcomed the Secretary General at the Centre.
In his briefing, the Director highlighted that the Centre is dedicated to addressing the challenges related to low productivity, livelihood, impacts of climate change, transboundary diseases, and trade barriers in agriculture, among other priority domains.
Renamed in 2007 from the earlier SAARC Agricultural Information Centre, SAC is mandated to work to promote agricultural research and development as well as transfer of agriculture technology in the region. The Centre is facilitating research and information network in SAARC Member States; exchange of regionally generated technical information to support innovation; collection and dissemination of information on proven agricultural technologies and effective farm practices as well as development and introduction of emerging frontier technologies in agriculture sector.
The SAC Director also highlighted that exchange of germplasm of high yielding crops and livestock, and transfer of climate smart practices and technical knowhow have been the programmes of high interest to SAARC Member States.
Following the briefing, His Excellency the Secretary General of SAARC appreciated the impactful works done by the Centre in the vital areas of agriculture research, technology and development, and emphasized the need of upscaling these activities. The Secretary General stated that as South Asia is one of most affected regions by climate change, it is crucial for SAC to focus on helping the region to cope with the emerging challenges on food and nutritional security through development and dissemination of climate resilient agriculture. He complimented the role of the Centre in formulating SAARC Agricultural Vision 2030 for agriculture transformation and pointed out the importance of applying the latest technology and AI based solutions in agriculture.
During the programme, the Secretary General released the book titled "Covid-19 Regulations -- Impacts on the Dynamics of Aquaculture and Fisheries in SAARC Countries” edited by the experts of the Centre.
SAARC Secretariat, Kathmandu
03 December 2024
