DHAKA: Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury commented that Information and Communication Technology (ICT) will not work in empty stomach.

The minister said in her speech on the development of agriculture in the second day of ‘Vision 2030: Framework for Economic Policy Making and Strategy Formulation In A Pluralistic Democracy’ conference at Radisson in city on Sunday.

Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Policy Research Institute (PRI) and Bangladesh Bank are jointly organizing Bangladesh Economist Forum’s maiden conference in cooperation with HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank and Association of Bankers Bangladesh.

Inviting private investment in country’s agriculture sector, Matia said, ‘I told global ICT boss Bill Gates that if they do not invest in food production they will get no people to use ICT’.

Regarding country’s agriculture sector the minister said that the country is getting benefit from her government’s subsidy policy in fertilizer and agriculture equipments.

She invited businesspeople to setup factories of small equipments for farming. She also invited scientists to invent crop verities to prevent famine in the world.

The agriculture minister said that her government has continuously been working for food production. She said that a farmer can take loan after opening an account with taka 10.

BDST: 1437 HRS, JUNE 22, 2014