Experts call for adoption of GAP in international-standard safe food production
Experts at a Partner Congress 2026 have called for spreading Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) to produce international standard safe agricultural products and increase export to benefit local farmers. They made the call at the Partner Congress 2026 organised by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) at the Pirgachha Upazila Parishad auditorium in Rangpur today. The event was organised under the "Programme on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship and Resilience in Bangladesh (PARTNER)" project for officials of the DAE, agricultural entrepreneurs, public representatives and farmers.
Senior Monitoring Officer of the PARTNER project Ashok Kumar Roy attended the programme as the chief guest with Pirgachha Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Zaid Imrul Mozakkin in the chair. Additional Deputy Director (Grains) of the DAE Md Saiful Alam and its Additional Deputy Director (Plant Protection) Mahmuda Khatun spoke as special guests. In his welcome speech, Pirgachha Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Rafiqul Islam said that the use of excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides is threatening food safety and quality. There is no alternative to following GAP to ensure safe food from production to the consumer's table.
Under the PARTNER Project, 15 Farmer Field Schools (PFS) have been run in Pirgachha in the 2023-24 fiscal year, 16 in the 2024-25 fiscal year and 25 in the current 2025-26 fiscal year. "The farmer groups of these schools are currently continuing their activities there as Farmers Centers," he said. Addressing the event as a special guest, Md Saiful Alam said, "Bangladesh ranks second in the world in the use of chemical fertilizers. This is a matter of concern for us."
The use of excessive chemical fertilizers and pesticides is posing a risk to soil health, environment, and human health. "Through the PARTNER project, work is being done to produce safe food, adapt to climate change, ensure farmers' safety, expand modern technology, and produce international standard agricultural products," he said.
Farmer Kulsum Begum said, before undergoing the training under the PARTNER project, they only knew about farming. "But, now we have learned nutritious food, nutrition for pregnant mothers and children, family nutrition gardens, adulterated food identification, importance of consuming vegetables and fruits and safe crop production techniques by following GAP," she added. The chief guest said that the main goal of the PARTNER project being implemented with the World Bank and IFAD funding is safe food production, commercialization of agriculture and production of international standard agricultural products.
"It is not enough to just increase production, if production is carried out following GAP and maintaining international standards, the export of agricultural products will increase and farmers will benefit," he added.
