Volume 9 No.2 April-June 2011The BARC Newsletter is published quarterly by BangladeshAgricultural Research Council (BARC) to provide news andinformation on agricultural research and development to theNARS and other concerned organizations in Bangladesh.

Any query concerning the newsletter or its contents,comments and suggestions may be addressed to:

The DirectorAgricultural Information CentreBARC, Farmgate, Dhaka-12IS, Bangladesh

Phone 880-2-9127407Fax 880-2-8113032E-mail dir-aic@barc.gov.bdWebsite www.barc.gov.bd

In This Issue

Workshop on Achievement of Boro Rice:Problems, Potentials and Future Actions

ational Tree Plantation Program 2011

Workshop on Summer Onion Cultivation inBangladesh: Problems and Prospects

AFAC] Food Security Sub-project

Training on Post-harvest Management of Fruitsand Vegetables

Review Workshop on Crop ImprovementProgram

Workshop on ClARO and RAlS in the SAARCCountries

Regional Workshop 2010-2011 on Outreach andInformation Dissemination for Rajshahi andRangpur Regions

Executive Council Meeting

Bangladesh for GM Crop Development to Copewith the Changing Climate

Project Completion and Monitoring Reportsunder Research Grant Fund of BARC

MoU Signed Between BRRI and Petrochem(Bangladesh) Ltd

Contract Signed between BARC and TTT

Chinese delegation meets the BARC ExecutiveChairman

Field Visit of the Executive Chairman

Communication Workshop on Field Monitoringof SPGR Sub-projects

Training Course on llIustrator and QuarkXpress

Training Course on Econometric Analysisthrough Different Computer Software

Executive Chairman visited BRRI Research field

Workshop on Achievement of Boro Rice:Problems, Potentials and Future Actions

A Workshop on Achievement of Bora Rice: Problems,Potentials and Future Actions was held at BARC on 24April 2011. Mr. C.Q.K Mustaq Ahmed, Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture chaired the inaugural session.hon'ble Minister for Agriculture Begum MatiaChowdhury attended the program as chief guest. In herspeech the hon'ble Minister mentioned that farmers insome areas of the country have been seriously affectedby cultivating some hybrid bora rice varieties this year.Systemic testing procedures are not being followedbefore importing those rice varieties, she mentioned asthe cause of such repulsive crop performance. Thehon'ble Minister expressed her dissatisfaction overnegligence of the concerned personnel and urged them tobe cautious about testing and certifying the hybrid ricevarieties.

Begum Matia Chowdhury, Hon'ble Minister for Agriculturewas addressing in the workshop as chief guest

Special guest of the inaugural session Mr. AnwarFaruque, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agricultureand DG (Seed Wing) expressed his concern about losinginterest of farmers in cultivation of hybrid varieties. Highseed price, requirement of intensive care, low marketprice, wide gap between potential and actual yield,sporadic crop failure etc. were the causes of losingfarmers' interest, he mentioned.

Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman of BARC, Dr Md.Abdul Mannan, Director General BRRI, Dr. NazmulIslam, Chairman of BADC and Mr. Md. Habibur Rahman,

Director General of the Department of AgriculturalExtension also spoke on the occasion.

National Tree Plantation Program 2011

The National Tree Plantation Program 2011 wasobserved throughout the country on 1 June 2011. Inthis context the Ministry of Agriculture observedFruit Tree Plantation Fortnight from 14 to 30 June2011. As a part of a national plantation programBARC organized a seminar on the contribution offur its and tree to alleviate proverty. ShawkatMomen Shajahan, Chairman of the StandingCommittee on Agriculture was present as chiefguest. Mr. C.Q.K Mustaq Ahmed, Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture presided over the seminarwhere Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman ofBARC was present as special guest. Dr. Abdul JalilBhuiyan, Director, Horticultural Research Centre,BAR! presented the keynote paper on the theme.

Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman of BARC wasaddressing the seminar

In his paper, he discussed about fruit security,balanced diet, way to earn from fruit cultivationand present technological status of local fruitproduction.

The chief guest in his speech emphasized on theneeds and importance of local fruits consideringtheir nutritional value. He laid emphasis on theproduction of quality planting materials of localfruits so that the people could grow more local fruittrees for meeting up the nutritional demand andearning foreign exchange after meeting the nationaldemands. This will also help in poverty alleviation.The chairperson C.Q.K Mustaq Ahmed underlinedthe need for conserving local fruits for the futuregeneration and suggested the concerned authoritiesto take appropriate measures. Dr. Wais Kabir,

Executive Chairman, BARC laid importance onincreasing the availability of fruits round the year.In this regard he drew attention of the scientists toprovide the farmers with quality planting materials.He also stressed on the reduction of postharvestlosses. About 400 participants including scientists,extension and NGO personnel and farmers attendedthe seminar.

Workshop on Summer Onion Cultivation inBangladesh: Problems and Prospects

A day-long national workshop on Summer OnionCultivation in Bangladesh: Problems andProspects was organized by Spices ResearchCentre (SRC), BAR!, Shibganj, Bogra on 30 April2011 at the Training Hall of SRC. The inauguralsession of the workshop was presided over. by theDirector General of BARI Dr. Rafiqul IslamMondal. Kbd. M.A. Mannan, MP and Member ofParliament Standing Committee on Agriculturewas present as the chief guest. ExecutiveChairman, BARC Dr. Wais Kabir, ExecutiveDirector, KGF Dr. M. Nurul Alam and DeputyDirector, DAE, Bogra Mr. Md. Ekram Hossainwere present as the special guests. Dr. Md.Shawkat Ali Mallik, Project Director, SRC, BAR!presented the keynote paper in the workshop.

In his speech the hon 'ble Member of ParliamentKbd. M.A. Mannan said, our annual production ofonion is around 14 lac tons and demand is around16 lac tons i.e our annual deficit is only about twolac tons. So only by reducing postharvest losses(presently being around 30-40%) throughappropriate management we can easily meet up ourdemand. He also called upon the scientists todevelop improved summer onion varieties toincrease onion production in the country. Theworkshop was followed by a Field Day at the SRCpremises with the participation of the local farmers.hon'ble Member of Parliament distributed seeds ofBAR! Ada-l and BAR! Holud-3 each at the rate of10 kg per farmer free of cost among 40 farmers. Dr.Kabir also attended the Field Day Program as thespecial guest.

Dr. Wais Kabir appreciated the hon'ble MP for hispioneering role in establishing the SRC andwelcomed him to the workshop on behalf of theNARS scientists. Mentioning changing food habit

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of the people with the increase of income,especially with the increasing demand of differentspices Dr. Kabir said, we need to strengthen spicesresearch to reduce the volume of import. For thepurpose we should come forward with moreinvestment in this sector. Referring to the recentinvolvement of herbal and pharmaceuticalcompanies with the processing and marketing ofspices products the BARC Executive Chairmansaid, our genetic diversity of spices crops should bebrought under the patent process.

AFACI Food Security Sub-project

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council hasbeen implementing the project on Development ofVariety, Cropping System and Technology Transferof Major Cereals for Sustainable Food Security inBangladesh since July 2011 with the financialassistance from Asian Food and AgricultureCooperation Initiative (AFACI), South Korea. Thisproject has been initiated with a view to enhancingcereal production through variety development,improvement of cropping system and technologytransfer for sustainable food security and updatingthe knowledge and skills of agriculturalprofessionals through training, visit, study tour,exchange program etc.

To review the progress of the project a day-longworkshop was organized by the Crops Division,BARC on 27 June 2011 at BARC. About 50scientists/officials from BAR!, BRRI, BARC, DAEand BADC attended the workshop. The inauguralsession of the workshop was chaired by Dr. WaisKabir, Executive Chairman, BARC. Mr. AnwarFaruque, Additional Secretary, Ministry ofAgriculture and DG (Seed Wing) attended theinaugural session as the chief guest. Dr. Md.Khalequzzaman Akanda Chowdhury, Member-Director (Crops) delivered the welcome addressfollowed by a brief presentation on AFACI foodsecurity project. He highlighted the salient featuresof the project and its implementation status alongwith knowledge gathered from his recent SouthKorea visit. Dr. Chowdhury mentioned that ricecultivation is fully mechanized in Korea, whererice seedlings are grown commercially under greenhouse conditions.

Mr. Anwar Faruque mentioned that mechanizationcould be an essential tool for increasing crop

production, mmtrmzmg post harvest losses anddeveloping market system. He laid emphasis onadoption of South Korea's mechanizationtechniques for rice cultivation in Bangladesh. Dr.Wais Kabir called upon the participants to make abreakthrough in agriculture by adopting newtechnologies and sharing knowledge among Asiancountries under the aegis of this project. He alsopointed out some emerging issues of agriculture,especially the adverse impact of climate change onagriculture.

Mr. Anwar Faruque, Additional Secretary and DirectorGeneral (Seed Wing), MoA was addressing as chief guest

In the technical session Dr. Md. Shafiqul IslamMomin, PSG, BRRI and focal member and Dr.Naresh Chandra Deb Barma, PSG, Wheat ResearchCentre, BAR! and focal member presented theprogress report (20 I0-11) and program (2011-12)of the project on behalf of their respectiveorganizations. Besides, the next year programs(2011-12) ofDAE and BADC were also presented.A detailed discussion was held on the presentedreports and programs and it was decided that theimplementing organizations would make necessarycorrections/modifications on the programs assuggested in the workshop.

Training on Post-harvest Management ofFruits and Vegetables

A two-day training program on Post-harvestManagement of Fruits and Vegetables wasorganized by Crops Division, during 24-25 April2011. The main objective of the training programwas to improve knowledge and skills of theconcerned scientists/officials on postharvestmanagement of fruits and vegetables forminimizing the postharvest losses. A total of 35participants from different NARS institutes,

universities, DAE, BADC, Hortex Foundation andprivate companies attended the program.

Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman, BARC, givingcertificates to the trainees

The inaugural session was presided over by Dr.Md. Khalequzzaman Akanda Chowdhury, Member,Director, Crops where Dr. Wais Kabir, ExecutiveChairman of BARC was present as chief guest. Inthe session, Dr. Abul Kalam Azad, Chief ScientificOfficer, Crops, BARC delivered welcome addresshighlighting the objectives of the program. Dr.Chowdhury in his address highlighted the extent ofpostharvest losses of fruits and vegetables. Hementioned that at present the average annualpostharvest losses are as high as 20% for fruits and25-30% for vegetables. In order to obtain food andnutritional security in the country Dr. Wais Kabirurged the scientists/officials to pay due attention indeveloping technologies for reduction of postharvest losses of fruits and vegetables.

In this two-day training program 10 theoreticalclasses were conducted covering farmers'innovative technologies, assessment of losses,harvesting, transport, packaging, storage,processing, preservation, value addition, marketingof processed fruits and vegetables, qualityrequirements of fresh fruits and vegetables forexport, artificial ripening of fruits using chemicalsat pre-and postharvest stages, pesticide residuesand food safety measures. Expert scientists fromrelevant fields were invited as the resourcespeakers.

Review Workshop on Crop ImprovementProgram

A two-day Review Workshop on CropImprovement Program: Research Progress 2010-11

and Research Program 2011-12 was organized byCrops Division, BARC during 25-26 June 201l.Sixty scientists from BARI, BRRI, BJRI, BSRI andBINA attended the program. The objectives of theworkshop were to review the progress ofconventional and biotechnological research andfacilitate collaboration among the NARS institutes.

A view of the Review workshop on CropImprovement Programme

The inaugural session was chaired by Dr. M.Khalequzzaman Akanda Chowdhury, MemberDirector (Crops), BARC and Dr. Wais Kabir,Executive Chairman of BARC attended the sessionas the chief guest. Dr. Abul Kalam Azad, ChiefScientific Officer, Crops, BARC welcomed theparticipants and highlighted the objectives of theworkshop. Dr. Wais Kabir said that future cropimprovement would depend on the creation ofvariability by manipulation of desired genes. Dr.Chowdhury, in his remarks, mentioned that somecountries of Asia-Pacific region viz. China, India,Iran and the Philippines have already harnessed thebenefits of biotechnological research in foodsecurity. The potential benefits of biotechnologyfor sustainable agricultural production, productivityand food security are yet to be exploited inBangladesh, he added.

This two-day workshop included four technicalsessions and a plenary session. The technicalsessions were on Varietal Improvement of Cereals,Oilseeds and Pulses; Varietal Improvement ofHorticultural Crops; Varietal Improvement of CashCrops and Crop Improvement throughBiotechnology. A total of 16 papers were presentedby the scientists from five NARS institutes. Thetechnical sessions were chaired by Dr. K.A.

Chowdhury, Dr. M.A. Khaleque Mian, Professor,Dept. of Plant Breeding, BSMRAU and Dr. Md.Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan, Professor, Dept. of PlantBreeding, SAU were present as experts and gavetheir remarks and inputs on crop improvementprograms. The plenary session of the workshopwas chaired by Dr. Wais Kabir. He reiterated theneed of research investment in crop improvementprogram. A good number of recommendations weremade in the plenary session with emphasis on thedevelopment of salt, drought and heat tolerant cropvarieties.

Workshop on CIARD and RAIS in theTraining SAARC Countries

A three-day training workshop on Coherence inInformation for Agricultural Research forDevelopment (CIARD) and StrengtheningRegional Agricultural Information Systems (RAIS)in the SAARC countries, jointly organized bySAARC Agricultural Centre (SAC), the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural ResearchInstitutions (APAARI), Global Forum onAgricultural Research (GFAR), BangladeshAgricultural Research Council (BARC) and Foodand Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UnitedNations was held during 10-12 May 2011 atBARC, Dhaka.

Prof. Dr. M.A Sattar MandaI, Vice Chancellor ofBangladesh Agricultural University (BAU),Mymensingh was present as chief guest in theinaugural session of the workshop. The session waschaired by Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman ofBARC. The inaugural session was addressedamong others by Dr. Attaluri Srinivasacharyulu,Coordinator of APPARI, Dr. Ajit Maru,Representative of GFAR, Dr. Gerard Sylvester,FAO Representative, Dr. Abul Kalam Azad,Director and Dr. S.K Paul, Deputy Director(Agriculture) of SAC.

Welcoming the participants and highlighting theimportance of exchange of information pertainingto agricultural research and development Prof. Dr.M.A. Sattar Mandal said, usable information arenot so wide. As far as the improved varieties areconcerned, there should have complete informationabout early or late, planting time and other relevantinformation so that the farmers can have maximumyield, he added. We are also facing similar

problems of information gap in the case of animaldisease and process of vaccination, the BAU ViceChancellor said. More contribution to theagricultural research and development could bemade through dissemination of correct informationand timely intervention, he added.

A view of the inaugural session of the training Programme

Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman of BARCsaid, South Asia is encountered with multiplechallenges like ensuring of food security, gradualdecrease of arable land and increase of population.Highlighting the need for exchange of informationin agricultural research and development Dr. Kabirmentioned that the success stories of agriculturalresearch could be extrapolated to the othercountries through an effective informationexchange mechanism. He requested the APAARIauthority to play an active role in sharingagricultural information in the Asia-pacific regionand taking measures for timely forecasting of thepossible outbreak of trans-boundary animaldiseases so that the loss from this kind of eventcould be minimized.

The objectives of this international trainingprogram were to upgrade capacities and skills ofInformation and Communication Managers (ICM)in the SAARC countries and to improve theirparticipation in the RAIS-CIARD activities. A totalof 35 participants including 22 from other SAARCcountries attended the training workshop.

Regional Workshop 2010-2011 on Outreachand Information Dissemination for Rajshahiand Rangpur Regions

The Project Coordination Unit (PCU) of NationalAgricultural Technology Project (NATP)organized a day-long Regional Workshop 20JO-2011 on Outreach and Information Dissemination

for Rajshahi and Rangpur Regions on 04 June2011 at Rural Development Academy (RDA),Bogra. The objectives of the workshop were toreview the project activities, assess theprogress/outputs/outcomes, share experiences anddiscuss project implementation related otherissues. It also offered opportunities to identifytechnology needs, regional problems and theirprobable solutions.

A total of 105 participants attended the workshop,28 from DAE, 25 from DLS, 27 from DoF and 26were from other organizations (KGF, Hortex, PCU,NARS institutes, RDA, media). The ProjectDirector of PCU, Directors of PIUs, Consultants/Experts of PCU and PIUs, concerned BARDofficials and local electronic and print mediapersonnel also attended the workshop.

The workshop was conducted in four sessionswhere DAE, DLS, DoF, Hortex, RDA and PCUpresented papers on their regional activities. Theworkshop had very enthusiastic participation of allimplementing units, decent power pointpresentations, lively discussions on thepresentations as well as problems and prospects ofNATP. Besides, the workshop helped orient thelocal participants about the concept, goals,activities and outputs/outcomes of NATP. Theworkshop ended up with some recommendationswhich may be useful for the implementers,planners and policy makers. The majorrecommendations were:

1. Baseline data/information from the project areasto be collected and preserved at FIAC andupazila. Baseline data/information is necessaryto assess the impact of the project interventionand the adoption of new technology.

2. Interdepartmental coordination at upazila anddistrict level needs to be strengthened throughfrequent meetings and consultations amongDAE, DLS and DoF; and also by holding ofUECC and DECC meeting regularly.

3. DAE, DLS and DoF should work in a morecoordinated way to support FIAC. FIAC shouldbe developed as an effective one-stop servicecenter for CIG members and other farmers. Thedepartments should provide sufficient extensionmaterials and inputs to FIAC. Problems raisedand discussed by the farmers during their visit to

FIAC should be properly recorded, and whichshould be utilized as the inputs for planning offuture training and demonstration programs.

Dr. MA Razzaque, Project Director, PCU,NATP was addressing the workshop

4. Monitoring activities should be strengthened.Regular field monitoring by interdepartmentaljoint monitoring team and timely submission ofmonitoring report should be ensured. Quickaction on the findings of monitoring will ensuretimely implementation of field activities andachieving outputs/outcomes. PCU shouldundertake frequent field visits and monitoring.

5. Decentralized extension service and bottom-upplanning process must be strengthened; timelyplanning and implementation of CIG MicroPlans (CMPs), Union Extension Micro Plans(UEMPs) and Upazila Extension Plans (UzEPs)to be ensured; and CIG capacity in preparing andimplementation of micro plan needs to beenhanced.

6. Researchable issues/problems to be identifiedfrom the field (in consultation with CIG) duringproject implementation and fed back toresearchers. High priority should be given toresearch on the identified problems to findsolutions. Climate resilience varieties andproduction technologies to be developed.

7. In many working areas, CIG farmers will beinvolved in the implementation process of CGP andSPGR research projects. Considering theimportance of research-extension linkages, the fieldworkers should co-operate the researchers actively.

8. Impacts/outcomes of the project activities/outputs,particularly the effects of demonstratedtechnologies (i.e. adoption of improved

technologies, increased productivity, higher farmincomes, farmer-market-linkages, institutionbuilding, etc.) should reach the neighburingfarmers beyond CIGs. All these should berecorded upazila-wise.

9. Training Need Assessment (TNA) to be done formaking the trainings more effective. Timings oftrainers should be planned to spread them overthe whole year to accrue maximum benefits fromthem instead of concentrating at the end of theyear. Resource persons from research institutesshould be selected along with the departmentaltrainers to diverse the knowledge base. Aninventory of trained farmers is essential forfollowing up their performance. Whilecalculating the number of farmers trained, eachfarmer should be counted one time only even ifhe gets trainings on several subjects.

10. Marketing, transportation and local level storagefacilities to be developed/improved. SCDCshould address the issues like, quick marketingand proper preservation of perishable products;and improved packaging and safe transportationof agricultural/food commodity.

11. Local practices under NATP and success storiesof CIGs/farmers should be published in localmedia for technology diffusion among otherfarmers/ stakeholders.

12. Filling up vacant posts of DAE/DLS/DoF atupazilas is necessary to help accelerate projectimplementation.

It may be mentioned that PCV organized fivesimilar regional workshops during 2010-2011. Thefirst workshop was held in Jessore for Khulna andJessore regions, the second in Mymensingh forMymensingh region, the third workshop was atBARD, Comilla for Sylhet and Comilla regionsand the fourth workshop was held in Cox's Bazarfor Chittagong region. PCV's last regionalworkshop for this fiscal year was held on 09 June2011 at BARC Auditorium, for Barisal-Dhakaregions.

Executive Council Meeting

The 89th, 90th and 91st Executive Council meetingswere held at BARC on 21 April, 26 May and 9

June 2011 respectively. The meetings werepresided over by Dr. Wais Kabir, ExecutiveChairman of BARC and Chairman of the ExecutiveCouncil.

Executive Chairman of BARC, Dr. Wais Kabirwas addressing the EC Meeting

The 89th EC meeting reviewed the implementationand progress of the decisions taken in the 88th

meeting. The research proposals and budgets ofBFRI (fisheries) for the fiscal year 2010-2011 werediscussed and approved in the meeting. SevenSPGR sub-projects were also approved in thismeeting. The 90th EC meeting reviewed theimplementation and progress of the decisions takenin the 89th meeting. The research proposals andbudgets of SRDI for the fiscal year 2010-2011were discussed and approved in the meeting. The91 st EC meeting reviewed the implementation andprogress of the decisions taken in the 90th meeting.It approved the revision of the SPGR sub-projectswhich were approved in the 89th EC meeting andalso approved a new SPGR sub-project on the'Consequences of Tobacco Cultivation III

Bangladesh' .

Bangladesh for GM Crop Development toCope with the Changing Climate

A national workshop on Biotechnology for CropImprovement under Changing Climate was held atBangladesh Sugarcane Research Institute (BSRI),Ishurdi, Pabna during 17-18 June 2011. Dr. M.Motlubor Rahman, former Executive Chairman,BARC attended the inaugural program as the chiefguest. Dr. Rahman said, the scientific communityof Bangladesh has unanimously agreed upon thecountry's needs to meet the food deficit throughbiotechnological approaches and introduction ofGM crops.

Aview of the inaugural ceremony of the workshop

The scientists and university teachers spoke onvarious aspects of biotechnology including theglobal status of commercial biotech cropcultivation. The workshop was attended by around120 scientists and university teachers. Thetechnical session was chaired by Dr. GopalChandra Paul, Director General of BSRI, whounderlined the need for developing sugarcanevarieties resistant to red rot disease and otherabiotic stresses. Accordingly, a Red Rot Group hasbeen formed to develop red rot resistant varieties ofsugarcane using conventional breeding andbiotechnological tools.

Project Completion and Monitoring Reportsunder Research Grant Fund of BARC

A three-day workshop on Review of ProjectCompletion and Monitoring Reports underResearch Grant Fund of BARC was organized bythe Planning and Evaluation Division of BARCduring 21-23 June 2011. The objectives of theworkshop were to review the achievement andidentify the constraints to the implementation ofthe research programs. Dr. Wais Kabir, ExecutiveChairman, BARC attended the program as the chiefguest where Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam Mondal,Director General of BARI was present as thespecial guest. The program was presided over byDr. Sk. Ghulam Hussain, Member Director,Planning & Evaluation, BARe. Dr. Paresh ChandraGolder, Chief Scientific Officer (Planning &Evaluation), BARC in his welcome addresshighlighted the workshop's objectives and somesignificant achievements made by the projects.Eighty six participants from different NARSinstitutes, agricultural universities and BARCattended the workshop.

A view of the workshop where Dr. Wais Kabir,BARe was present as chief guest

Dr. Wais Kabir in his opening speech emphasizedproper implementation of the programs as per plan toachieve expected outputs. He laid emphasis onmonitoring for successful implementation of theproject/program. He urged the BARe scientists toparticipate in the monitoring activities of the projectsin time. Dr. Md. Rafiqul Islam Mondal urged theparticipants to discuss the programs constructivelythrough which some recommendations could bemade. This project fund has been very useful inconducting research in the NARS institutes, headded. The chairperson of the session thanked theprogram leaders for successful completion of theprojects. The inaugural session of the workshop wasfollowed by six technical sessions. Thirty sixresearch papers were presented in five technicalsessions by the respective program leaders of NARSinstitutes, agricultural universities and BARe. Atechnical session was held for presentation of sevenmonitoring reports which were presented by themonitoring team leaders or their representatives.

MoD Signed Between BRRI and Petrochem(Bangladesh) Ltd

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) wassigned between Bangladesh Rice Research Institute(BRRI), Gazipur and Petrochem (Bangladesh)Limited, Uttara, Dhaka on the 29th May 2011 inthe Conference Room of Petrochem (Bangladesh)Ltd, Head Office, Uttara, Dhaka. The MoU wassigned by Dr. M.A Mannan, Director General ofBRRI and Mr. AB.A Siraj Uddowlah, ManagingDirector of Petrochem (Bangladesh) Ltd. The MoUaims at developing mutual cooperation betweenBRRI and the Petrochem (Bangladesh) Ltd. fordissemination of BRRI developed rice technologiesthrough Petrochem.

Under this technical cooperation agreement BRRIwill provide the quality Breeder seed of modemand hybrid rice varieties for its multiplication andPetrochem will make high quality rice seedsavailable to the farmers. The BRRl will alsosupply parental lines of hybrid rice for productionof F I seeds locally which will help popularize theBRRl developed hybrids. This will help tominimize foreign currency for importing hybridseed. BRRl will also impart training to PCLpersonnel and contract seed farmers for technicalcapacity building. Petrochem will extend allnecessary logistic support to BRRI and maintainhigh quality of seeds through their own seedprocessing, preservation, packaging andmarketing networks. This type of public-private-partnership (PPP) will help availability ofadvanced technologies to the private sector forvariety improvement, capacity building andtransfer of technology to the farmers.

MoU was signed between BRRI and Petrochem

Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman, BARC, Dr.Md. Khairul Bashar, Director, Research, BRRI,lRRI-Bangladesh Liaison Scientist Dr. MA HamidMiah, Protocol Officer of BARC Mr. Md.Mustafizur Rahman and other senior scientistsfrom BRRl, officials from Seed CertificationAgency, SCA, and Director, Finance andAdministration, Mr. Asif Uddowlah, Petrochem(Bangladesh) Ltd and other senior officials ofPetrochem were present on the occasion.

Contract Signed between BARC and TTT

A contract (Contract Package No. SD/PlU-BARC/l1) was signed between BARC andTraining and Technology Transfer (TTT) on 12May 2011 at a hotel in the capital for logistic

support for arranging foreign trammg, higherstudies, workshop, study visit, Post-doctorate etc.A signing ceremony was held in this connection,where the senior officers of BARC and TTT werepresent. The contract was signed by Dr. Md. AbulKashem, Director of PlU-BARC on behalf ofBARC and Dr. Md. Anwar Javed, RegionalDirector of TTT on behalf of TTT. The ExecutiveChairman of BARC Dr. Wais Kabir attended theprogram as the chief guest. While commenting onthe contract Dr. Kabir hoped that foreign HRDprograms of the NARS scientists would befacilitated through this contract.

Chinese delegation meets the BARCExecutive Chairman

A four-member Chinese delegation met theExecutive Chairman of BARC Dr. Wais Kabir atthe Conference Room of the Council on 21 April2011. The delegation members were Hu Yan' an,Deputy Director General of Foreign EconomicCooperation Centre, MOA, Chen Lijun, Director,Department of Int'l Cooperation, MOA, TangZhishao, Director, Foreign Economic CooperationCentre, MOA and Young Gobao, Chairman ofHubai Provincial Seed Group. The meeting wasalso attended among others by Mr. Anwar Faruque,Additional Secretary and Director General, SeedWing of the MoA, Bangladesh, Director of HybridRice Division of BRRI, Mohammad Masum,Chairman of Supreme Seed Company and thesenior scientists ofBARC.

Mr. Anwar Faruque highlighted the entire gamutof Sino-Bangladesh bilateral cooperation inagriculture, particularly in expansion of hybridrice cultivation in Bangladesh and higher studiesin agriculture. Describing the higher cost and lackof availability of hybrid rice seed as the majorconstraints to expansion of hybrid rice cultivationin Bangladesh Mr. Anwar Faruque requested theChinese delegation to make an arrangement sothat the parent lines can be produced inBangladesh even with cost sharing. The Chineseofficers said, because of the soaring price of riceand increasing labour cost the price of hybrid seedhas increased. They, however, showed theirinterest to strengthen cooperation in agriculturebetween the two countries.

Executive Chairman of BARC exchangingviews with chinese deligates

Referring to the recent China visit of a highpowered delegation led by the hon'bleAgriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury theExecutive Chairman of BARC Dr. Wais Kabirsaid, during the visit the Chinese counterpart wasrequested to support salt tolerant rice varietydevelopment in Bangladesh. Dr. Kabir alsosought more cooperation in higher studyprograms. Mr. Mohammad Masum, Chairman ofSupreme Seed Company said Philippines andsome other countries are receiving A line & Rline from China. China will be lagging behind inthe rice seed market in Bangladesh unlessparental lines are supplied to the country, headded. The delegation members said, the Chinesegovt. is keen to establish a demonstration centrein Bangladesh. Mr. Anwar Faruque mentionedthat the Bangladesh government is quite positiveto facilitate such venture of the Chinesegovernment.

BRRI Research Field Executive Chairmanvisited

Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman of BARCvisited the BRRI research field on 24 April 2011.He inspected the performance of different BRRIdeveloped lines, observed the comparativeperformance of the two salt tolerant rice varietiesBRRIdhan-47 and Binadhan-8. He also observedthe performance ofNERICA and BRRI developedhybrid rice varieties. During the visit the DirectorGeneral of BRRI Dr. Abdul Mannan and thesenior scientists of BRRI were present.

Executive Chairman of BARC observing theperformance of BRRI developed lines

Communication Workshop on FieldMonitoring of SPGR Sub-projects

A day long Communication Workshop on FieldMonitoring of SPGR (Sponsored Public GoodsResearch) Sub-projects was held at the BARC on25 May 2011. A total of 90 participants comprisingthe coordinators and principal investigators of allthe sub-projects from different NARS institutes anduniversities and monitoring team members ofBARC attended the workshop. The objectives ofthe workshop were to review the progress of theproject activities and findings of the monitoringteams and take corrective measures with a view toimproving the performance of the grants provided.

The inaugural session of the workshop was addressingby the Executive Chairman of BARC

The workshop was conducted with four technicalsessions and a brief inaugural session. Dr. Sk.Ghulam Hussain, Member Director, Planning andEvaluation, BARC presided over the inauguralsession. Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman,BARC was present as the chief guest. Dr. PareshChandra Golder, Chief Scientific Officer, Planning

and Evaluation, BARC in his welcome addressstated the workshop objectives and importance ofmonitoring and evaluation in implementingresearch projects. The chief guest requested theCoordinators and Principal Investigators toimplement the Sub-projects properly and

. successfully. He mentioned that the future projectfunding would depend much on success of thisproject. Dr. Kabir urged the coordinators andprincipal investigators to expedite the expenditureof research activities and related procurements. Thechairperson Dr. Hussain mentioned that theplanned activities of the Sub-projects to becompleted in time. He also suggested that theMonitoring and Evaluation cell members of theARls and universities should monitor the Sub-projects regularly for timely and properly runningof the project activities.

The monitoring team members of BARC reportedand presented updated status of the activities of allSub-projects. There was a consensus that reportingand presentation of the monitoring teams should bedone as per supplied format covering all aspects oftechnical, procurement, HRD, financial andinternal monitoring. The coordinators/principalinvestigators of the Sub-projects interacted on themonitoring findings and urged to take appropriateactions based on the findings of monitoring.

The technical sessions were chaired by Dr. WaisKabir, Executive Chairman, BARC, Dr. Sk.Ghulam Hussain, Member Director Planning andEvaluation, Dr. Md. Khalequzzaman A.Chowdhury, Member Director, Crops and Dr.Ahmad Ali Hassan, Member Director, NRM. Atotal of eight monitoring reports were presented on33 Sub-projects.

Training Course on Illustrator andQuarkXpress

Agricultural Information Centre, BARC organizeda training program on Illustrator and QuarkXpressduring 22-23 May 2011 at BARC. The majorobjectives of the program were to make the AICpersonnel capable of graphic designing, textprocessing and page make up using Photoshop,Illustrator and QuarkXpress. The course wasdesigned to cover image processing, photo editing,text processing and page layout in printing andphotography both by theoretical and practicalclasses. In the closing ceremony, Dr. Wais Kabir,Executive Chairman, BARC was present as thechief guest and distributed certificates among the

participants. The trammg program was presidedover by Mrs. Dil Afroz, Director, AIC, BARC. Dr.Sk. Ghulam Hossain, Member Director, Planningand Evaluation and Dr. S.M. Khalilur Rahman,Director, Manpower and Training were present asthe special guests. Dr. Kabir appreciated theprogram and suggested to continue such coursesfor enriching the scientific publications.

Mrs. Oil Afroz, Director Ale was addressingthe concluding session of the programme

Training Course on Econometric Analysisthrough Different Computer Software

Two batches of a five-day training program onEconometric Analysis through Different ComputerSoftware were organized by AgriculturalEconomics and Rural Sociology Division, BARCduring 16-20 May and 06-10 June 2011. Theobjectives of the program were to find outappropriate method of analysis to get better resultsand find out the observed results under Bangladeshagricultural situation. A total of 36 participants fortwo batches from different NARS institutesattended the program. In both inaugural and closingsessions Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman,BARC was present as the chief guest. Dr. Kabiremphasized on the need for econometric analysisof policy research to ensure food security in thecountry. Dr. S.M. Khalilur Rahman, MemberDirector, AERS, BARC and Dr. Fauzia Yasmin,PSG, BARC briefed the objectives of the trainingprogram. In each batch, 27 lectures were deliveredcovering different aspects of economics thatneeded statistical applications through differentcomputer software such as E-view EASY, TSP,SPSS, etc. Scientists from NARS institutes andProfessors of relevant field from BangladeshAgricultural University, Bangabandhu SheikhMujibur Rahman Agricultural University, AshaUniversity and United International University

Readers and Contributors

The scientists, technologists and concerned officials involved in NARS institutes are requested tosend articles, success stories, research highlights and reports on important events with qualityphotographs for BARC Newsletter. Cooperation in this regard as well as your valuable commentsand suggestions for our future endeavour would be highly appreciated.

were the resource speakers. Participants werebenefited from the training program by acquiringknowledge about econometric analysis usingdifferent computer software for policy researchunder Bangladesh agricultural situation.

Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman of BARCdistributing certificates among the participants

Appointment with BARC ExecutiveChairman

Dr. Ravi Khetarpal, Regional Director, CABI SouthAsia met Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairman of

Compiled & Edited by : Dil Afroz, Dr. Abdus Satter, Rafique Mostafa Kamal,Dr. Abdus Salam, Md. Mustafizur Rahman & Susmita Das. Published by BangladeshAgricultural Research Council, Airport Road, Farmgate, Dhaka-12IS, Bangladesh

BARC on 12 June 2011 at the later's office atDhaka. During the meeting they exchanged viewson how activities of CAB! could be expanded inBangladesh.

Mr. Joselyn Valer, a renowned economist and valuechain analyst of Peru, who has been appointed as aconsultant for conducting Value Chain Analysis ofHigh Value Crops for Shouhardo II program ofCare Bangladesh. Shouhardo II program isconsidered to be one of the largest food securityprograms jointly funded by USAID andGovernment of Bangladesh. Mr. Joselyn Valer wascalled on Dr. Wais Kabir, Executive Chairrman,BARC on 15 June 2011. During the meeting theyhad interaction on establishing possible linksbetween BARC and Shouhardo II initiatives.

Mr. Howarth E. Bouis, Director of Harvest Plus,IFRI, Washington, USA met Dr. Wais Kabir,Executive Chairman of BARC on 19 June 2011 atthe later's office at Dhaka. They exchanged viewson the present status of wheat-maize production inBangladesh and discussed the ways and means ofincreasing production of these crops in the country.