Bangladesh is no more dependent on foreign aid in combating the adverse impact of climate change as the country has its own fund to handle such catastrophe.

“If the foreign assistance is not available for mitigating the adverse impact of climate change, then even we have enough capacity to deal with the adverse impact of climate change with our own fund,” Agriculture Minister M Abdur Razzaque said while addressing a seminar titled ‘Global Climate Change Conference 2021: Expectation of Bangladesh’ held at CIRDAP auditorium on Friday.

To face the adverse impact of climate change, Razzaque said the government has taken huge programmes including climate change strategic plan, formulating of action plan and also the formation of climate change trust fund worth Tk 700 crore.

“Country’s agriculture sector would be badly affected as a result of the climate change impact. We are working with utmost importance to protect the sector from this vulnerability,” he added.

“Our scientists and officials are working intensively for different varieties of crops production, technology innovation and extension of saline, drought, submergence and heat-tolerant crops including paddy, wheat and maize amid different adverse environment,” he also added.

“Huge success has already been achieved in this area,” also said the minister.

Chaired by Forest and Environment Affairs Sub-Committee Chairman Professor Khandoker Bazlul Huq, the programme also was addressed, among others, by Dhaka University Pro-Vice Chancellor ASM Maksud Kamal, Social Science Faculty Dean Professor Sadeka Halim and Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS) Executive Director Atique Rahman.

Professor Delwar Hossain of Dhaka University International Relations Department presented the keynote paper at the event.