Seminar held marking World Soil Day

World Soil Day 2025 was observed in the country on Friday, December 5, with the theme ‘Healthy Soils for Healthy Cities — সুস্থ নগরের জন্য সুস্থ মাটি’. The day was centrally celebrated at the Soil Building in Farmgate, organised by the Ministry of Agriculture in cooperation with the Soil Resource Development Institute SRDI and the Food and Agriculture Organisation FAO.

Marking the occasion, a seminar titled ‘Importance of Healthy Soil for Agricultural Transformation in Bangladesh’ was held at the SRDI multipurpose hall. Additional secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Md Abu Zubair Hossain Bablu attended the programme as chief guest. FAO representative in Bangladesh Dr Jiaoqun Shi was present as special guest.

Director general of SRDI Dr Begum Samia Sultana presided over the event, where additional secretary Md Selim Khan delivered the welcome speech. Chief scientific officer of the institute Md Abdul Halim elaborated on World Soil Day and SRDI initiatives.

The keynote paper was presented by vice chancellor of Gazipur Agricultural University Dr G K M Mostafizur Rahman. Bangladesh Rice Research Institute research director Dr Md Rafiqul Islam and Dhaka University Professor Dr Md Jasim Uddin from the Department of Soil, Water and Environment discussed the topic.

Soil scientists, teachers and students from SRDI, BARC, DAE, BARI, BINA, BADC and different universities attended the programme.

Since 1973, SRDI has been conducting salinity mapping in coastal regions. Salinity maps were published in 2003 and 2009. Based on the latest survey of 2024, an updated report titled ‘Saline Soils of Bangladesh-2025’ has been prepared, which was unveiled at the seminar.