The Daily Morning Voice Online Desk: Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi put maximum emphasis on enhancing crop production to lessen dependency on imported foods, including edible oils. “Most of the edible oils are being imported. If cultivation of soybean and mustard can be increased massively in the country, dependency on imported edible oils will be reduced,” he said.

The Minister was addressing a views-exchange meeting with government officials at the office of Pirgachha Upazila Nirbahi Officer in Pirgachha a upazila town here today as the chief guest. Presided over by Pirgachha Upazila Chairman Abu Naser Shah Md. Mahbubar Rahman, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Sheikh Shamsul Arefin, Pirgachha Upazila Awami League President Taslim Uddin and upazila level officials attended the meeting.

Tipu Munhsi said farmers should use more and more organic fertilizers instead of excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides to maintain the fertility of the land for increasing crop productivity. He said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered that not even an inch of land in the country should remain fallow. “Due to the possibility of global food crisis in the future, crops should be produced in the vicinity of all institutions, including cultivable and fallow lands, homesteads and even schools and colleges,” he said. Earlier, the Minister addressed a rally organized by Muktijoddha Technical School and College at Paschim Debu village as the chief guest with Pirgachha Upazila Chairman Abu Naser Shah Md. Mahbubar Rahman in the chair. Addressing the rally, the Minister said that education is the backbone of the nation. The nation which is more educated, that nation is more developed, he added.

Every child should be educated for developing the nation, he said, adding that parents should pay more attention to their children’s education. “Manpower educated in technical education is in great demand both at home and abroad,” he said, adding that the government has emphasized technical education like the developed world.  Later, he inaugurated distribution of submersible-pumped tube-wells among beneficiaries under the Safe Water Supply and Sanitation in Rural Areas Project of the Department of Public Health Engineering at Pirgachha upazila parishad premises. The Minister also attended the conference of the Pirgachha upazila unit and Pirgachha College unit of Bangladesh Chhatra League at the upazila parishad auditorium as the chief guest.