Pvt investment alongside policy support crucial for smart agriculture: Experts

Smart agriculture is the need of time for ensuring food security, reducing unnecessary wastage and combating climate change impacts, but it needs private sector's investment alongside policy support to develop in the country, experts and stakeholders said at a seminar on Wednesday. 

Stakeholders must also be adequately educated to exploit the opportunities of smart agriculture, they said.

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised the seminar at a hotel in the capital with the participation of Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, former vice chancellor of Vice Chancellor of Bangladesh Agricultural University Dr MA Sattar Mandal and Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Md Sameer Sattar.

Emphasising the role of private sector involvement, the agriculture minister said brilliant young people have to invest in smart agriculture for its development. Furthermore, they can also make big profits in agriculture as has been demonstrated by many recent projects.

For food security, the country needs more productivity and thus, smart agriculture is the need of time. The government is committed to giving all sorts of policy support needed in this regard, the minister said.

He also urged for setting up multipurpose cold storage systems to mitigate wastages. Later, he stressed on product varieties, efficient use of water and climate-resilient crops production.

Dr MA Sattar Mandal said the following are necessary for transforming the country's conventional agricultural practices into smart agricultural procedures: easy bank loan access, supportive tax and tariff regimes, more skill development training and automation.

At present, the country's agro machinery market is worth 2.8 billion, making the sector ripe for investment.

The post-harvest loss rate in the country is 25-45%, but it can be reduced with mini cold storage facilities in local markets across the country and the modernisation of the transport system. The government has to come forward in this regard while private investment is also needed, Mandal added.

He highlighted the case of India where the government has created a Rs6,000 crore fund and committed to assist with 50% of the financing needs for setting up cold storage facilities.

The exports of food and agricultural products have remained stagnant for some time but the rate of import of these items have surged, threatening food security and trade balance goals. Smart agriculture has now become indispensable to boost exports and reduce import reliance, the agriculture specialist said.

Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Md Sameer Sattar said that the country's agro- and food-processing industry is exporting around 700 items to over 145 countries. 

Currently, the industry accounts for about 0.22% of the GDP and faces a number of challenges such as limited value-added skills, lack of diversification, absence of quality assurance and low awareness of sanitary and phytosanitary compliance issues. Moreover, to keep pace with the fourth industrial revolution, stakeholders have to learn about nano-technology, bioinformatics, machines, internet of things and new agricultural technologies.