Some Thoughts to Ponder as We Cross Over to the 21^st Century

In the challenging twenty-first century,
Let us try to free the country from penury,
Let us work to make decision makers to realize
That behind biotechnology the amount of gain is a surprise.

We desperately need to apply this technology,
To obtain disease free banana and potato in plenty,
To meet the country’s entire need and some surplus
For earning some valuable foreign exchange for us,

For forestation of our denuded forests and hills;
We need high quality tress – the best material that fills
The badly eroded places in the country,
We need these materials in plenty.

Tissue culture technology can give us a solution
To feed and cloth our ever increasing population;
If we take care of contamination and hardening,
It will turn into a booming business always prospering.

Now has come the time when tissue culture
And genetic engineering should work together;
This approach will guarantee us a better future,
The engineered crops would yield a volume we require.

The art of identifying and cloning of a gene, 
In most countries it is now a mere routine.
 In Bangladesh cloning of a gene is still to be a reality 
unless theMinistry puts it on the list of top priority.

There is no dearth of trained manpower to do it, 
if there were lab facilities to achieve this feat.
There will be hardly any need to import food grains,
if crops are engineered with genes of disease and pest resistance.

There will be no more shortage of  crops on account of nature’s vagary,
if we have genetically engineered crops to meet such an emergency.
There will be enough food and clothing for everybody
if decision makers recognize this powerful tool’s efficacy.

We are to work hard to link this science with industry
if we were to reap the benefit of biotechnology fully.
To those who run the country, politicians and the opposition,
We say, “Give this emerging science an opportunity to function.”

Establishment of the National Biotechnology Center
is the need of the hour which cannot wait any longer.
To run the Center with a clear cut mandate
we need Bangladshis with an exceptional talent.

Without adequate funds and higher pay structure,
research activity  in this institute would greatly suffer
The best Bangladeshi expatriates would only come
if they find comparable facilities and warm welcome.

For them there should be extra privileges for five years,
after which to earn extra money will be their affairs.
They could surely do it through the sale of their patents
or finding solution to industry-related problems.

In the center every transgenic material needs to be tested
to determine whether in Bangladesh climate, the crop can be fitted.
The Center has another big responsibility to shoulder
To counteract the effects posed by the gene, ‘terminator’;

It has to compete with biotech companies by producing hybrid rice,
to  save the country from paying to exploiters such a huge price.
To deal with such a multi-faceted science of biotechnology,
creation  of a department under S&T is an urgent necessity.
Such a ‘Cell’ should have talented scientists to man it,
for it to function as an extremely efficient  and powerful unit:
by listing essential projects, evaluating  and monitoring them,
bringing industry and scientists  together to discuss a problem.

Bangladesh is now a member- country of ICGEB
We should take advantage of their services whatever those might be.
With the Botany Department, DU recognized as an Affiliated Center,
getting  funds from ICGEB for collaborative projects will be easier.

There is another piece of good news for BAPTC members
Dr. A. Azad has been elected a member of the Council of Scientific Advisers.
This augurs very well for Bangladesh’s bright future
Dr. Azad’s help will help development of Biotechnology Center.

Finalization of Biosafety rules and regulations need to be completed soon
To import novel breeds of plants, animals, fish, the action will be a boon.

Whether we are a biologist, chemist or a doctor
Or a bio-informatics scientist or a chemical engineer,
We need to work together as members of a team
In fulfillment of our long awaited cherished dream –
To build a better Bangladesh where there will be no exploitation
Where science and technology will be harnessed to banish deprivation.

I see a bright light of hope beckoning us from the distant horizon
Let us realize this hope to the full in the fulfillment of our mission.

Ahmad S. Islam
President, BAPTC
March 8, 1999