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DHAKA, Dec 5, 2024 (BSS) - Agriculture Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury said that importance should be given for ensuring discrimination-free economic development in the country.

"The agriculture sector will have to play a vital role in reducing unemployment in the country," he told a discussion at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) auditorium here, marking World Soil Day.

This year's theme of the day is "'Soil Caring: Measuring, Monitoring, Management. Soil is the most important resource of our earth."

The adviser said that it is not possible to achieve discrimination-free macroeconomic development in the country unless 70 percent of people who are dependent on the agricultural sector will be made to smile.

With Agriculture Secretary Dr. Mohammad Emdad Ullah Miah in the chair, the program was addressed by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Bangladesh Representative Dr. Jiaoqun Shi, who delivered a speech as the special guest.

Professor Dr. M. Jahir Uddin of the Soil Science Department of Bangladesh Agriculture University presented the keynote paper in the function.

Underscoring the need for saving agricultural land to meet the demand of food grains for gradually increasing people, he said vigilance should be ensured so that agricultural land is not used in the name of industrialization.

The adviser urged all concerned authorities to strengthen research activities on how farmers can reduce use of chemical fertilizer on their soil.

Considering the importance of soils for food security and sustainable development, the UN World Soil Day is celebrated every year on 5 December.