Tobacco cultivation may be controlled by promoting farming of unconventional high-value crops and fruits including maize in the country, Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque said.
He said this while speaking as the chief guest at a webinar titled 'Tobacco Cultivation Control and Food Production' from his official residence on Monday.
Dhaka International University's Tobacco Control and Research Cell (TCRC), Bangladesh Network for Tobacco Tax Policy (BNTTP) and Bangladesh Anti-Tobacco Alliance (BATA) jointly organised the event, said a press release.
The ministry of agriculture is neither conducting research nor providing subsidy or assistance for tobacco cultivation, the minister mentioned.
In order to control tobacco cultivation, the cultivation of alternative crops should be made popular among the farmers, he added.
TCRC President and Member of Parliament Barrister Shamim Haider Patwary presided over the webinar.
National Tobacco Control Cell Coordinator and Additional Secretary Hossain Ali Khandakar, PKSF President Dr. Kazi Khaliquzzaman Ahmed, Media Personality Shykh Seraj and Dhaka International University Vice-Chancellor Professor Dr Ganesh Chandra Saha attached the function as the special guest. The main article was presented by Advocate Syed Mahbubul Alam, Technical Consultant of The Union.
Vital Strategies Heads of Programmes Shafiqul Islam, CTF Lead Policy Advisor Md Mostafizur Rahman, Bangladesh Anti Tobacco Alliance (BATA) Coordinator Saifuddin Ahmed, UBINIG Executive Director Farida Akhter, among others, were present at the webinar as expert negotiators.
