Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council
Profile
- Head
- Dr. Md. Abdus Salam
- Role
- Executive Chairman (Routine Charge)
- Annual budget
- —
- Staff
- —
- Established
- 1973
- Legal basis
- Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Order, 1973 (Presidential Order No. 32 of 1973); first parliamentary amendment 1996 (broadened mandate to planning, priority setting, and HRD); BARC Act 2012 (approved by Parliament, March 2012), which formally empowers BARC to allocate research resources and coordinate NARS research programs
BARC is actively exercising its NARS apex coordination role: its NSB Technical Committee recommended six new BRRI rice varieties (including Bangladesh's first black rice and two hybrids) approved in February 2026, bringing BRRI's total to 127 varieties (39 climate-resilient); a new BARC-PKSF partnership for agricultural research-extension linkage was launched in January 2026; and BARC is implementing its component of the World Bank/IFAD PARTNER program (IDA Credit 7299-BD, $500 million) for agricultural transformation; Dr. Abdus Salam took over as Executive Chairman (Routine Charge) in October 2025 following retirement of Dr. Nazmun Nahar Karim.
Recent activity
- 2026-02-01 regulation National Seed Board (115th meeting, Ministry of Agriculture) approved six new BRRI rice varieties for nationwide cultivation -- BRRI Dhan 115 (black rice, vitamin E-rich, 7.4 t/ha), BRRI Dhan 116 (high-yield Boro, 8.59 t/ha), BRRI Dhan 117 (salt-tolerant, blast-resistant Boro), BRRI Dhan 118 (cold-tolerant haor variety), BRRI Hybrid Dhan 9 (salt-tolerant), and BRRI Hybrid Dhan 10 (9.7-10.7 t/ha); BARC chairs the NSB Technical Committee that evaluates multi-location trial data and formally recommends varieties; total BRRI varieties now reach 127, with 39 tolerant to adverse conditions. ↗↗↗
- 2026-01-29 international BARC and PKSF held a formal discussion meeting at PKSF Bhaban-1, Dhaka to plan a joint MoU for strengthening agricultural research-extension linkages and achieving inclusive agricultural growth; PKSF Chairman Zakir Ahmed Khan and BARC Executive Chairman Dr. Abdus Salam committed to a future MoU; collaboration framed around government's 'Transforming Bangladesh Agriculture: Outlook 2050' strategy. ↗↗↗
- 2025-10-31 appointment Dr. Md. Abdus Salam, Member Director (Crops Division), appointed Executive Chairman (Routine Charge) of BARC by office order of the Ministry of Agriculture (Deputy Secretary Md. Mostafizur Rahman); succeeded Dr. Nazmun Nahar Karim who retired upon completion of service; Abdus Salam joined BARC in 2009, promoted to Member Director (Crops Division) on 22 November 2022. ↗
- 2025-08-01 international BARC and IRRI co-hosted a high-level consultation meeting under the CGIAR Scaling for Impact (S4I) program to chart a roadmap for scaling proven agricultural innovations in Bangladesh; meeting identified priority innovations including climate-resilient rice systems in coastal polders and water-saving Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation for boro rice; BARC represented as the national NARS apex coordinator. ↗↗
- 2025-03-03 other BARC Crops Division published a Training Manual on Seed Quality Management on the official government portal (barc.portal.gov.bd), covering multi-location field trial protocols, variety evaluation procedures, and National Seed Board submission requirements; supports BARC's system-wide policy and standards role under BARC Act 2012. ↗
Provenance & notes
BARC was established by Presidential Order No. 32 of 1973 under the Ministry of Agriculture; its mandate was widened by Parliamentary Act in 1996 and again by the BARC Act 2012 (passed March 2012), which is the current governing statute empowering it to allocate research resources across NARS institutes. The NARS consists of 10 government research institutes spread across four ministries (Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock, Environment and Forest, Industries); BARC is the apex coordinator, not a direct line-ministry for those institutes. Current Executive Chairman (Routine Charge) Dr. Md. Abdus Salam took charge on 31 October 2025 per TBS News, succeeding Dr. Nazmun Nahar Karim who retired; the 'Routine Charge' designation indicates an acting/interim appointment pending a formal permanent appointment. head_since set to 2025-10-31 (article publication date as proxy for assumption of charge; exact charge date may be October 30 per the office order -- minor uncertainty). staff_count is null: no publicly available sanctioned-post figure found; annual_budget_bdt is null: BARC budget is embedded in the Ministry of Agriculture development envelope and the PARTNER program component is not separately disclosed. The NSB 115th meeting date is confirmed as February 2026 by The Daily Star and TBS News but exact day not published; set to 2026-02-01 as a conservative month-start placeholder. PKSF-BARC meeting confirmed as January 29, 2026 per PKSF official website. BARC-IRRI CGIAR S4I meeting date is mid-2025 per IRRI; precise date not available, set to 2025-08-01 as placeholder for the August 2025 period. All five events cross-verified across 2+ independent sources except the October 2025 appointment (single TBS article; corroborated by BARC officer list URL returning current officer) and the March 2025 training manual (single BARC portal document). Verification status is 'verified' because all core institutional facts (establishment, legal basis, mandate, parent) are cross-verified across Banglapedia, Wikipedia, ASTI/CGIAR, and the official BARC/government portal.
Sources
- https://barc.gov.bd/
- https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Bangladesh_Agricultural_Research_Council
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangladesh_Agricultural_Research_Council
- https://www.asti.cgiar.org/bangladesh/directory/bangladesh-agricultural-research-council-barc
- http://www.gis.gov.bd/en/organization_profile.php?organization=18
- https://sps.apaari.org/index.php/barc/
- https://bangladeshbiosafety.org/website/bangladesh-agricultural-research-council-barc/
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/md-abdus-salam-promoted-new-executive-chairman-barc-1273696
- https://barc.gov.bd/site/view/officer_list/%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%AE%E0%A6%95%E0%A6%B0%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A4%E0%A6%BE%E0%A6%AC%E0%A7%83%E0%A6%A8%E0%A7%8D%E0%A6%A6
- https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/six-new-rice-varieties-approved-nationwide-cultivation-4100106
- https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/six-new-rice-varieties-including-two-hybrids-added-national-seed-bank-1353046
- https://ricenewstoday.com/six-new-rice-varieties-approved-for-nationwide-cultivation/
- https://pksf.org.bd/pksf-barc-to-work-jointly-to-achieve-inclusive-agricultural-growth/
- https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/corporates/pksf-barc-plan-closer-cooperation-amid-farm-sector-challenges-1347811
- https://thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade/barc-pksf-to-work-together-for-inclusive-agricultural-growth
- https://www.irri.org/news-and-events/news/barc-and-irri-chart-roadmap-scale-agricultural-innovations-bangladesh
- https://www.irri.org/news-and-events/news/irri-drives-efforts-scale-agricultural-innovations-bangladesh
- https://barc.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/files/files/barc.portal.gov.bd/page/b0695cbc_a9e6_4450_81e7_752a55072c3b/2025-03-03-08-22-3beea4a6ef196c83f879f5821752d13e.pdf
- https://documents.worldbank.org/en/publication/documents-reports/documentdetail/099041023160013487
- https://grokipedia.com/page/bangladesh_agricultural_research_council
- https://www.fao.org/agris/data-provider/bangladesh-agricultural-research-council