Cultivation of sweet potato in the coastal char lands could help ensure food security, said the experts at a seminar on Monday. They said char lands, which run risks of natural calamities like cyclone and tidal surge, are suitable and cost-effective for growing nutritious potato during the dry season. The international seminar was organised jointly by Brac and the Centre for International Potato (CIP) at Brac Centre Inn in the capital. Putting emphasis on socio-economic importance of sweet potato, Brac Executive Director Dr Mahbub Hossain said numerous chars in Noakhali remain fallow. "These char lands could be allocated to landless people who can grow sweet potato," he said, adding that potato seeds have already been supplied to farmers in the districts affected by the cyclone Cidr. The production of five new varieties of sweet potatoes exceeded 25 tonnes an acre whereas the production of traditional variety is only 5 tonnes, he said while presiding over the seminar. Speaking as chief guest, Director General of the seed wing's of the agriculture ministry Anwar Faruque said the scientists of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (Bari) have developed some new varieties of sweet potato and non-government organisations, besides the Department of Agriculture Extension, will have to come forward to take these varieties to the field level. Bari Research Director Dr Azizur Rahman said eight new varieties developed by Bari can produce 20 to 25 tonnes of potato in an acre of land. Bari is also trying to develop drought and salinity-tolerant varieties, he noted. CIP official Dr Sreekanth Attaluri said cultivation of sweet potato in the Tsunami-affected areas in Indonesia yielded good results. This can also be tried in Bangladesh, he added.