The government is extending all-out support to the agri-entrepreneurs
and providing with all sorts of stimulus packages, Minister of State for
Women and Children Affairs Simeen Hussain (Rimi) MP said in a day-long
training program organized for agricultural entrepreneurs at Barun High
School located in Kapasia of Gazipur district. She added that young
people should take this opportunity to be the agents of change in the
transformation of agriculture.
United Commercial Bank PLC (UCB) has held this training under the
agricultural support scheme, titled ‘Bhoroshar Notun Janala’, which is
being implemented as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) project in
accordance with the directive of the Bangladesh Bank, said a press
release.
State Minister for Women and Child Affairs Simeen Hussain (Rimi) MP was
present at the event as the chief guest. ATM Tahmiduzzaman, Additional
Managing Director and Company Secretary, UCB PLC; Abul Alam Ferdous,
Additional Managing Director of UCB PLC; Rezaul Karim Siddique, popular
presenter of BTV’s agriculture-based show ‘Mati O Manush’ & an
agricultural analyst, were also present among other distinguished
guests.
With the presence of 200 selected agri-entrepreneurs hailing from
different upazilas of Gazipur district, the day-long training program
shed light on different important issues related to business planning,
marketing, managerial skills, banking and financial aspects of
agricultural enterprises, and answered the various queries of the
entrepreneurs as well.
Simeen Hussain (Rimi) MP, Minister of State for Women and Children
Affairs of Bangladesh, opined, “Farmers are a great source of
inspiration for us, so is our youth. It feels so good to see that many
young entrepreneurs are nowadays getting interested in agriculture and
contributing to the economy. But they need proper guidance. I feel that
this initiative by the UCB bank will enlighten them and guide them to
prosperity.”
Abul Alam Ferdous, Additional Managing Director of UCB PLC, said, “Our
special CSR project will open a new window of trust in the minds of
agri-entrepreneurs in the country. It will help to find a way to stand
by the side of the farmers involved in agriculture and inspire them.”
ATM Tahmiduzzaman, Additional Managing Director of UCB, said, “Equipping
the farmers and agro-entrepreneurs with the right information and
knowledge is very crucial to making sure that the country is moving
forward in the right direction to achieve food security. UCB aims to do
that through our CSR project ‘Bhoroshar Notun Janala’ that has been
designed to facilitate and empower entrepreneurs across the country.”
It should be noted that this is the first time in Bangladesh that any
commercial bank is implementing such a project in the agriculture sector
and directly helping the farmers. Different activities including tree
plantation, training for agricultural entrepreneurs and distribution of
agro-related smart devices such as the AI-driven ‘Aro Maas (MoreFish)’
device have already been taken under this initiative to benefit those
involved in the agri sector. At the same time, under this project,
research initiatives have been undertaken for the development of
climate-smart agricultural marketing systems to improve food and
nutritional security of vulnerable pastoralist households in Bangladesh.