Supradip Chakma, the CHT Affairs Adviser, stated today that bamboo would be the primary driver of the hill areas’ economic growth.
“We want to increase the production and use of bamboo for building the strong economic backbone of the CHT and reduce the water scarcity of the area,” he said while speaking during a meeting with the country representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Jiaoqun Shi at his office at Bangladesh Secretariat here.
“We want to develop the hill areas without changing the nature and environment. Bamboo is a very effective and important instrument to protect the environment of the hill region,” he said, adding that for this reason, the government is not encouraging people of the region to plant Segun, Mehgani and high rise trees in the areas.
He urged the FAO representative to take pro-people projects to keep environment and natural reserve forest in a balanced state.
“We hope that the projects undertaken by the FAO would be sustainable and long lasting in the hill areas,” he said, adding that those projects will help meet food demands of the hill people as well as help develop their livelihood.
“We have to increase cultivation of bamboo and preserve the forest, jungles, fountains and small flows of hill waters,” he said, adding that the government has taken initiatives to cultivate cashew nuts, coffee and maize in 26 upazilas of the CHT area.
In order to support these crops, the advisor encouraged the FAO representative to take on additional projects.
Among those in attendance were FAO Assistant Country Representative Imanun Nabi Khan, National Project Implementation Officer Emdadul Haque Chowdhury, UNDP representative A A Mong, private secretary to the adviser Deputy Secretary Khandkar Mushfiqur Rahman, and Joint Secretary of the CHT Affairs Ministry Sajal Kanti Banik.
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