DHAKA – The government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the sustainable development of Bangladesh’s fisheries sector. Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Bangladesh Joris van Bommel made this announcement at the inauguration of the Aquaculture Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Tarakanda of Mymensingh today under the ‘FoodTechBangladesh’ programme. Director General (DG) of the Department of Fisheries Dr Md Khaled Kanak attended the inauguration ceremony of the event as the chief guest. The DG of the Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute (BFRI) Dr Md Latiful Islam, Director of the Department of Fisheries, Mymensingh Division Nripendra Nath Biswas and Managing Director of Fishtech (BD) Limited Md Ataul Karim Bhuiyan joined the event among others.
Fishtech (BD) Limited Chairman Khondokar Farhad Hossain chaired the event with around 200 participants from various sectors joining the programme. Speaking at the event, Ambassador Joris van Bommel said, “‘FoodTechBangladesh’ is an excellent example of applying the Dutch Diamond approach in Bangladesh.” “The establishment of this Center of Excellence will enable farmers to learn about and adopt modern aquaculture technologies on a wider scale, while strengthening investor confidence and supporting the long-term growth of the sector,” he said. The Netherlands has proudly supported this initiative over the past several years, he added. Dr Md Khaled Kanak said high productivity could be achieved even with limited land resources. He noted that the Netherlands had set a remarkable example in this regard and called on all stakeholders to work together by combining government support with appropriate technologies to further advance Bangladesh’s fisheries sector. Since its inception, ‘FoodTechBangladesh’ has conducted more than 60 commercial trials and trained over 800 farmers online and nearly 600 farmers through in-person programmes, helping improve technical knowledge and promote sustainable aquaculture practices.
Launched in 2022, ‘FoodTechBangladesh’ is a five-year public-private partnership programme co-funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh and implemented by Larive International and LightCastle Partners.
