Adoption of new tech 'to help mitigate climate change impact'

FE Report

Adoption of new technologies is necessary for the countries like Bangladesh to help mitigate the possible affect of climate change for the sake of ensuring the food security, a visiting top-level executive of a global agri-business company said Monday.

Andrew Guthrie, Syngenta's Regional Head of Crop Protection for Asia Pacific, also underlined the need for increased price support for farmers and right policy of the government for boosting agri-output, especially food-grains.

"Global climate change has emerged as a big challenge. And there is a need for providing growers with new tools in order to help mitigate its adverse impact," Mr Guthrie said.

He was exchanging views with the members of the Forum for Information Dissemination on Agriculture (FIDA), a journalists' platform for agriculture, at the city's Syngenta office. Senior officials of the Syngenta Bangladesh Limited were present on the occasion.

When his attention was drawn, Andrew Guthrie said: "If the state of the global climate change worsens, it could pose a threat to the growth of agricultural production against the backdrop of growing demand for food.

He said the South Asian region needs to boost food-grain production in order to feed about 700 million additional people by 2030.

Citing the WFP's projection, Mr Guthrie said the global rice output in 2009 was below expectation. He further said Bangladesh was the only country where the price of rice came down last year.