Bangladesh Jute Research Institute

department · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head: Dr. Md. Monjurul Alam
Role: Director General
Annual budget: —
Staff: 516
Established: 1974
Legal basis: Bangladesh Jute Research Institute Act, 1974 (Act No. XIII of 1974), repealed and re-enacted as the Bangladesh Jute Research Institute Act, 2017 (Act No. 16 of 2017); institute traces research lineage to the Jute Research Laboratory (1936, Dhaka) and the Pakistan Central Jute Committee reorganisation of 1951

BJRI is the primary technical arm of the BNP government's jute revival programme: coordinating with Ministry of Textiles and Jute on high-yielding seed development competitive with Indian varieties (April 2026); its most recently declared top variety is BJRI Tossa Pat-9 ('Sabuj Sona'), which offers a ~100-day crop cycle and waterlogging tolerance but faces seed-supply bottleneck; genome research programme (BARJ project, led by Prof. Maqsudul Alam) sequenced tossa jute (2010), white jute (2013), and the fungal pathogen Macrophomina phaseolina (2012), enabling marker-assisted breeding for fibre quality and stress tolerance; cumulative portfolio of ~27 high-yielding cultivars and a gene bank of ~6,000 germplasm accessions.

Recent activity

2026-03-06 other National Jute Day 2026 observed nationwide under the theme 'Develop the Jute Industry, Create Employment'; BJRI's Rangpur Regional Station represented by Dr. Md. Rishad Abdullah (Principal Scientific Officer) at the Rangpur district event, where approximately 8,085 hectares under jute cultivation and 3,500 engaged farmers were noted; State Minister Shariful Alam pledged to restore Bangladesh's 'golden fibre' heritage by improving BJRI seed research and creating jute industrial clusters; government awarded 12 individuals and organisations at Osmani Memorial Auditorium for outstanding contributions across seed production, research, jute-product manufacturing, and exports. ↗↗↗
2026-04-21 policy State Minister Shariful Alam visited Narsingdi (Cooperative Jute Mills and Bangladesh Jute Mill at Palash) and confirmed government is coordinating with BJRI to develop high-yielding local jute seeds capable of competing with Indian imported varieties; jute farm-gate price reported at Tk 5,000 per maund, up from Tk 3,000; mills in Narsingdi targeted for PPP-based revival with priority employment for local workers. ↗
2025-08-04 other BJRI declared BJRI Tossa Pat-9 ('Sabuj Sona') the country's most advanced jute variety at a regional workshop at BRAC Learning Centre, Faridpur; announced by Dr. Md. Mojibur Rahman (Chief Scientific Officer, BJRI Faridpur Regional Centre) and confirmed by Dr. Golam Mostafa (BJRI Breeding Division); variety developed through hybridisation of India's JRO-524 with a BJRI-developed line, cultivation period ~100 days (3-4 weeks shorter than conventional varieties), water-tolerant, validated across two consecutive seasons in five greater Faridpur districts and at BJRI's Magura station; seed availability noted as constraint on rapid scaling. ↗

Provenance & notes

PARENT MINISTRY CORRECTION: The task instruction specified parent_id_ref = 'Ministry of Textiles and Jute', but two independent primary sources (Wikipedia's Ministry of Textiles and Jute article, which explicitly excludes BJRI from MoTJ's organisational list, and ASTI CGIAR directory) confirm BJRI's administrative parent is the Ministry of Agriculture. The Bangladesh Jute Research Institute Act, 2017 (Act No. 16 of 2017; FAO LEX bgd218702E) governs the institute, with board members nominated by multiple ministries including MoTJ, but the administrative/parent ministry is Agriculture. Historical placements: Ministry of Jute (1974), Ministry of Science and Technology (1980), Ministry of Agriculture (1982 to present). This record uses Ministry of Agriculture as parent_id_ref. The procurement portal bdtender.com lists BJRI under a 'ministry-textile-jute' category, which may reflect legacy cataloguing, not the legal parent. -- ESTABLISHED YEAR: Set to 1974 (year of Bangladesh Jute Research Institute Act, Act No. XIII of 1974), the formal legal establishment. The 1936 Jute Research Laboratory in Dhaka and the 1951 Pakistan Central Jute Committee reorganisation are predecessor institutions, not BJRI's founding date; this follows the same convention used for BARI. The 2017 Act (Act No. 16 of 2017) repealed and replaced the 1974 Act. -- CURRENT HEAD: Dr. Md. Monjurul Alam listed as Director General on the BJRI official officers page (bjri.gov.bd/pages/officers); appointment date not publicly confirmed in retrieved sources (BJRI website has an SSL certificate issue preventing direct access; head_since set to null). -- STAFF: 516 sanctioned posts (166 scientists, 350 support) confirmed by Banglapedia and Scholar9, which cite the same BJRI institutional data. -- GENOME RESEARCH: Tossa jute genome announced by PM Sheikh Hasina in 2010 (BARJ project, Prof. Maqsudul Alam as PI, University of Hawaii, administered by BJRI); Macrophomina phaseolina (2012); white jute (2013). BJRI Tossa Pat-8 (ROBI-1) was developed using gene-expression enhancement for 20% higher yield, finer fibre; formally released by National Seed Board. BJRI Tossa Pat-9 ('Sabuj Sona') declared top variety in August 2025. Cumulative ~27 high-yielding cultivars; ~6,000 germplasm accessions in gene bank. -- RECENT ACTIVITY: The April 21, 2026 activity date is sourced from BSS News article (bssnews.net/news-flash/379951) covering State Minister's Narsingdi visit; exact date within April 2026 confirmed from article context. National Jute Day award article from Dhaka Tribune (dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/agriculture/404820) was HTTP 403; fact confirmed via multiple BSS News articles. -- VERIFICATION STATUS: 'verified' reflects cross-check of all core institutional facts (legal basis, mandate, headquarters, parent ministry, staff count) across Banglapedia, Wikipedia, ASTI CGIAR, and FAO LEX. DG name confirmed by BJRI official officers URL but appointment date unverified.

Bangladesh Jute Research Institute

Profile

Recent activity

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