The premier nongovernmental research organisation, the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), has identified five major areas to strengthen agriculture cooperation among the South Asian countries. Although the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) is committed to cooperation in agricultural development, there has been a little progress, CPD observed.

Agricultural development strategies should be implemented through public, private, and NGO participation rather than through public agencies only, it suggested. The identified areas of cooperation are, agricultural research and development, technology exchange, capacity building, harmonisation of standards policies and laws, and participation in World Trade Organisation (WTO) negotiations on agriculture.

The areas of cooperation were identified by a study done by CPDs Senior Research Fellow Dr Uttam Kumar Dev. The findings of the study were presented at a seminar organised by CPD in Cirdap auditorium in the capital on March 21 2007. CPD Board of Trustees Member M Syeduzzaman chaired the event.

Speakers at the seminar underscored the need for strengthening broader cooperation on agriculture among South Asian nations for overall development and for a common stand at the negotiations at WTO. They suggested charting a broader action plan for regional cooperation on agriculture and other areas in line with the South East Asian nations under ASEAN, which was initiated in the 1960s. They said the agriculture sector has developed a lot in the last two decades but cooperation among the regional states has remained very fragile.

Uttam Kumar Dev pointed out in his paper that effective cooperation for agricultural development will require establishment of working committees and networks, detailed work programmes, a series of agreements on specific issues, a regular system of monitoring and evaluation, strengthening of existing organisations, and establishment of regional institutes.