44 to get Bangabandhu National Agriculture Award

Forty-four individuals and organisations will get Bangabandhu Jatiya Krishi Puroshkar-1425 and 1426 (Bangla), (Bangabandhu National Agriculture Award-1425 and 1426), the highest state recognition to the agriculture sector.

Of them, 15 individuals and organisations will get the award for the year 1425 and 21 individuals and organisations will be awarded for 1426, reports Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha.

Three gold medals, twenty-five bronze medals and sixteen silver medals will be distributed among the selected persons and organisations for their outstanding contribution to the different fields of agriculture.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will formally hand over the awards to them through a ceremony at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) here on October 12, according to officials concerned.

The Ministry of Agriculture will arrange the function with Agriculture Minister and Chairman of Bangabandhu Krishi Puroshkar Trust Dr M Abdur Razzaque in the chair.

Each of the gold medal winners will receive Tk 1 lakh along with 18-carat gold medal weighing 25 grams, while each silver medal winner will get Tk 50,000 cash along with a medal of 25 grams pure silver and each bronze medal winner will receive Tk 25,000 cash along with a bronze medal.

These awards will be given for their special contribution to agriculture research and expansion, cooperatives, motivation, technology innovation, commercial farming, aforestation, rearing livestock and poultry and fish farming.

In 1973, Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman introduced the award in order to take forward the Agri-based economy of the newly-independent country to a new height.

After the assassination of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujiubar Rahman in 1975, the subsequent governments cancelled the award.

But after assuming office in 2009, the present Awami League government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina constituted “The Bangabandhu Jatiya Krishi Puroshkar Tahabil Ain-2009” for giving an institutional shape to the award introduced by Bangabandhu.

The Bangabandhu Jatiya Krishi Puroshkar Trust Law, 2016 was enacted to make the activities of this sector more dynamic.