Editorial
New vista opening on jute
Sooner the knowledge gets used, the better it is for the sector
THE secret of jute plant is now at the fingertip of a scientist, thanks to the work of Bangladesh-born Dr. Maqsudul Alam who has decoded the genome of this natural fibre. We congratulate him and his team on their potentially epoch-making success.
With this discovery of the genome sequence of jute, the prospect of Bangladesh's Golden Fibre, which showed signs of decline in the recent past mainly due to the successive governments' wrong handling of the sector, is seeing a glimmer of new hope. But before that can happen there would have to be more research, more innovation through greater research, institutional replication and widespread application of the knowledge.
Now what really is so special about this discovery of jute's genome sequence? The most important consequence of this scientific achievement is that the scientists will now have the power to experiment with jute's basic properties so that it will now be possible to add new features to the fibre's original qualities. For example, it may now be possible to develop new kinds of jute that can grow in extremer conditions, or that will not need the help of pesticides to fight pest. It may also be possible to grow a variety of jute that has better fibre quality such as relating to its strength, durability and so on. To be precise, the discovery has opened up a new whole vista for this cash crop of Bangladesh.
And since the credit for this achievement goes to a Bangladeshi scientist, we in Bangladesh can now hope to take the lead in the areas of jute such as its production, development and marketing with a competitive edge over other jute growing countries in the world market.
Since none other than the prime minister made the first announcement of this brilliant scientific feat by a Bangladesh-origin researcher, it is genuinely expected that far from being confined to the academics in ivory tower the new knowledge about jute will now be put to practical use in the field. And sooner the jute farmers get the benefit of this knowledge the better.
The good news is that the scientist himself at a press briefing on Thursday assured us all that the fruits of the discovery could be brought within the reach of the farmers by the next five years.
One cannot lose sight of the fact that jute's past glory owed a lot to the growers of jute. The past governments' lackadaisical attitude towards jute is largely to blame for the growers' increased stress on other crops in place of jute. Now they are expected to be bolstered as higher dividends are paid through cultivation of new strains of jute.
The government can now ill afford to waste any time to make the best of this new possibility that has opened up before jute. The scientists leading the research and their counterparts deserve to be provided with all necessary supports, rewards and motivation by the government so that the nation may reap the benefit of this discovery as early as possible.
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