'75 pc denied access to ICT sector in Saarc countries'

The workshop also aims to focus on development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in natural resource management, agriculture production system and agro-processing markets in villages.

Speaking at the inaugural session, Agriculture Minister MK Anwar said although 75 percent of total population in the Saarc countries live in the rural areas, they hardly get access to the ICT sector.

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He said the digital divide is more alarming in the context of rural agricultural development, which has widened the information gaps between the village and city.

The minister, however, said that ICT is not a magic formula that is going to solve all the problems of a country like Bangladesh.

Presenting the keynote paper, Prof Jamilur Reza Chowdhury, vice chancellor of BRAC University, said Bangladesh suffers from a lack of connectivity with the outside world through fibre optic network.

Because of absence of any national Internet exchange, traffic is being routed through other countries, he added.

He also pointed out that Saarc countries are lagging behind in the ICT sector.

Presided over by Dr Nurul Alam, executive chairman of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council, the inaugural session was also addressed by Dr Wais Kabir, director of Saarc Agricultural Information Centre, and ASM Abdul Halim, secretary of ministry of agriculture.