Seed Wing of the Ministry of Agriculture and International Finance Corporation, a member of the Work Bank Group, will work together to review and amend existing Seed Act, rules, regulations and policy.
A consultation workshop titled ‘Seed Sector in Bangladesh-Growth through Regulatory Reform’ was held on Saturday at Pan Pacific Sonargaon. Agriculture Secretary Dr. S M Nazmul Islam attended the programme as chief guest.
The existing Seed Act dates from 1977 and despite several consolidated amendments in 1997 and 2005, it requires further updating since the sector dynamics have changed significantly, said a press release.
The Seed Wing at Ministry of Agriculture has administrative and regulatory oversight of seed related activities and is leading the initiative to draft the new seed act, with comprehensive participation from private sector seed companies and other relevant stakeholders.
It is expected that the new act will facilitate strong private sector participation through improving and simplifying business environment for private sector players, it added.
The act will cover a range of reforms, such as simplifying registration of seed varieties and seed dealers, upgrading regulations for seed quality and strengthening the seed inspection process.
BICF, through the Bangladesh Agribusiness Investment Climate project, is supporting Seed Wing of the Ministry of Agriculture in this initiative along with other regulatory simplification and standardization initiatives that are aligned with international best practices.
Source: UNBConnect
