Desk Report:
Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) and CAB International will work together to make Bangladesh’s agricultural system more effective, sustainable and environmentally friendly to produce safe food, reduce farmers’ production costs and address climate and environmental risks.
To this end, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) titled ‘Up-scaling of the Sustainable Agroecological Farming in Bangladesh’ has been signed between the two organizations. At a ceremony organized on Thursday (August 20, 2026), the organization’s Deputy Managing Director Dr. Akand Mohammad Rafiqul Islam and CAB International’s Regional Director for South Asia Dr. Binod Pandit signed the MoU.
PKSF Managing Director Md. Fazlul Quader presided over the ceremony. He said that it is important to move the country’s agriculture sector forward through sustainable and market-based solutions. For this, farmers need to be made skilled in modern and environmentally friendly farming to promote science-based agriculture and agro-ecological farming.
He emphasized on developing microenterprises for manufacturing organic pesticides from among farmers at the local level. Through this, he mentioned that not only will the production costs of farmers be reduced, but also the risks to the environment and public health will be reduced and safe food production will be accelerated.
CAB International’s South Asia Regional Director Dr. Vinod Pandit said that one of their main goals is to reduce the use of harmful pesticides and increase the use of safe organic pesticides through training and technical skills enhancement.
He said that it is possible to ensure environmentally friendly and sustainable agriculture by reducing the production costs of farmers through increasing awareness of all those involved in agriculture, digital data management and market-based partnerships.
Dr. Vinod Pandit also said that through this agreement, the technical expertise of CAB International’s ‘PlantwisePlus’ program and the ability to manage PKSF’s activities and strong network will be utilized. This will increase the skills and capabilities of small and marginal farmers in the country, as well as expand sustainable agricultural systems.
Dr. Saleh Ahmed, Country Representative of the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences (CAB) International, Bangladesh, also spoke at the event.
The stakeholders expressed hope that the MoU will create new opportunities for cooperation in Bangladesh’s agricultural sector to produce safe food, reduce farmers’ production costs, reduce the use of harmful pesticides, and address climate and environmental risks.
