DHAKA, Aug 28, 2023 (BSS) - A five-day program on 'Training Course on Knowledge Transfer to Improve Agricultural Productivity' was inaugurated today in FARS Hotel and Resorts in the city.

Bangladesh's National Productivity Organisation (NPO) and Asian Productivity Organization (APO) organised the programme.

A total of 24 delegates from Cambodia, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Republic of China, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and host Bangladesh are taking part in this program, said a press release.

In addition, two international resource persons one from India and the other from Japan and a local resource person from Bangladesh will conduct the program.

Sheikh Faezul Amin, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh was present as chief guest in the inaugural session.

Muhammad Mesbahul Alam, APO Alternate Director for Bangladesh and Director General (Additional Secretary) NPO, Ministry of Industries, Bangladesh chaired the inaugural session and has given his welcome remarks.

Toshinori Mitsunaga, Program Officer, Multi-country Programme Division, APO Secretariat, Japan spoke on behalf of Secretary-General APO, Japan.

The value of agricultural production in APO members has reached approximately US$1 trillion in recent years (FAO, 2021). Progress in R&D by agricultural research institutes and organizations has played an important role in supporting continuous growth in production and productivity in the sector.

Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems (AKIS) support the sharing of knowledge among relevant stakeholders. While technologies and methodologies have evolved, not all farmers in APO members are equipped to adopt and utilize them. There are several reasons for this, but one constraint is the lack of structured, robust knowledge transfer schemes to disseminate knowledge, know-how, and skills from research organizations to farming communities.

The objectives of the training course are understanding the concept, management and models of knowledge transfer systems to farmers; explain the methodologies and techniques to apply in such transfers; learn about key success factors from best practices of knowledge transfer and innovation models; and explore prospects for their adoption in APO members.

Among others, the Additional Secretaries, Joint Secretaries of the Ministry of Industries and NPO Director Abul Kashem Muhammad Shaheen were also present.

Three resource persons Dr. Koichi Fukuda from Japan, Dr. Melmangalam Ramanathan Ramasubramaniyan from India and Dr. Shaikh Tanveer Hossain from Bangladesh conducted the training programme.

The topics included Agricultural Knowledge Transfer and Types and Roles of Tools and Techniques, Agricultural Extension Services and Smart Agriculture in Japan, India and Bangladesh, Development of Smart Agriculture Focusing on Production, Cooperative-based Rural Development and Extension Activities in Bangladesh, Development of Smart Distribution, and Direction of Agricultural Extension, Building an Ecosystem to Enhance Farmer-to Farmer Knowledge Exchange etc.