Bangladesh’s Minister of Agriculture Motia Chowdhury (3rd from left) visited the CGIAR Pavilion while inaugurating the National Agricultural Technology Fair held in Dhaka on 5-7 April 2015. In the photo, Zia Uddin Ahmed, CIMMYT GIS and Remote Sensing Scientist, briefs her on the use of the Octocopter in agricultural research and development and other CIMMYT activities in Bangladesh. In her inaugural speech, the Minister mentioned CIMMYT’s role in maize production expansion and mechanization. “Since our land is fragmented, we need to focus on small but power-operated machines,” she said. She also asked organizations working in Bangladesh, such as CIMMYT, to think about how to use solar energy to operate agri-machines.
The Fair was organized by the Agricultural Information Service (AIS) of the Ministry of Agriculture. Five CG centers (CIMMYT, CIP, IFPRI, IRRI and WorldFish) and HarvestPlus participated in the CGIAR pavilion and received the award for the best pavilion at the Fair.