The People’s Republic of Bangladesh hosted the 7th D-8 Ministerial Meeting on Agriculture and Food Security virtually from 12-13 January 2022, under the theme: ‘Promotion of Climate Smart Agriculture: Key issues for D-8 Member States’. Ministers of Agriculture/ Forestry / Food / Livestock / Rural Development and Heads of Delegation of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Republic of Indonesia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, and the Republic of Turkiye participated at the meeting.
Furthermore, the D-8 Partners and International Organizations such as Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB Group), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) also participated in the meetings.
The Delegates from the Member States underscored the need to place agriculture and food security on member states priority development agenda and to pursue it vigorously at all levels and sub sectors, including Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA).
The Meeting discussed comprehensively on exploring opportunities for sustainable Agricultural Development and Promoting Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) in D-8 Member States. In this regard, the People’s Republic of Bangladesh proposed the project “Scaling up Climate Smart

Agriculture (SCSA)” for D-8 Member Countries. The project is aimed at capacitating farmers and the rural communities in D-8 countries to improve their agricultural production systems towards food and nutrition security, scaling up crop intensification, increased farm income and livelihood improvement through coping, adapting and mitigating unpredictable climate impacts.
Thereafter, the Ministerial Declaration – Dhaka Initiatives – was adopted by the meeting. In the declaration, the D-8 Ministers of Agriculture/ Forestry / Food / Livestock / Rural Development and Heads of Delegation welcomed the Bangladesh proposal for Scaling up Climate Smart Agriculture (SCSA) and agreed on the following:

1. Take actions to track indicators/sub-indicators regarding sustainable agriculture practices under SDG-2 to more effectively promote Climate Smart Agricultural technologies/farming systems in D8 Member States.
2. Encourage D-8 Member States to develop project proposals along with their feasibility studies focused on CSA to further strengthen agricultural cooperation, between or among Member States, in collaborative research and implementing programs.
3. Explore opportunities for partnerships among D-8 Member States, IsDB Group, FAO, IRRI and CIMMYT and other international organizations to support CSA among D-8 Member States.
The meeting ended with closing remarks delivered by Ambassador Isiaka Abdulqadir Imam, the D-8 Secretary-General and H.E Dr. Muhammad Abdur Razzaque, MP, the Honourable Minister of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.