Agrilife24.com: A delegation of Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan from Canada headed by Dr. Andrew Sharpe, Bangabandhu Research Chair in Food Security, GIFS, University of Saskatchewan, Canada visited Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) Headquarters on 01 April 2024 in Gazipur. BRRI Director General Dr. Md. Shahjahan Kabir offered a cordial welcome to the delegation team at the Institute and briefed about its main features. He also discussed ways and means to collaboration between BRRI and GIFS in an opinion exchange meeting held on the occasion.
BRRI Director General Dr. Md. Shahjahan Kabir presided over the opinion exchange meeting organized on the occasion while BRRI Director (Research) Dr. Mohammad Khalequzzaman, Director (Adminstration and Common Service) Dr. Md. Abdul Latif, Coordinator for Advanced Studies and Research (CASR) Dr. Munnujan Khanam, Senior Research Officer, National Research Council, Canada Dr. Pankaj Bhowmik, Bangabandhu Research Chair, BSMRAU Dr Ashutosh Sarker, GIFS Representative for Bangladesh, GIFS Regional Office, Dr. Sreekanth Attaluri, International Program Development Manager, GIFS, University of Saskatchewan, Canada Mr. Hasan Pervej Ahmed, Heads of BRRI research divisions were present.
Dr. shahjahan Kabir said that BARC (Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute) and GIFS-Canada signed an MoU in Dhaka to work in a multi-disciplinary research, training, and development partnership to help promote sustainable food security in Bangladesh. In accordance with the MoU, the Bangabandhu-Pierre Elliott Trudeau Agricultural Technology Centre (BP-ATC) was inaugurated on 23February 2023 by the hon'ble Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina MP at Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) campus. The BP-ATC will provide foundational platform to support crop research in Bangladesh, but additional key investments for developing crop varieties that are climate-resilient and farmer-friendly are required.