About the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University ( শেরেবাংলা কৃষি বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়) or SAU is the oldest agricultural institution in Bangladesh and South Asia, situated in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka. It was established on December 11, 1938 as Bengal Agricultural Institute (BAI) and later upgraded to university in 2001 renaming Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University.
Since its establishment, this university is playing a role in agricultural research and development (R&D) of the region through creation of knowledge, agricultural technology generation and transfer, crop diversification and intensification for the benefit of farming communities. SAU offers undergraduate and post graduate degrees through course credit system and also Ph.D. courses.
A Brief History
SAU was established as Bengal Agricultural Institute (BAI) on December 11, 1938 by Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq, the then chief minister of undivided Bengal. The Bengal Agricultural Institute was renamed East Pakistan Agricultural Institute in 1947. After the emergence of Bangladesh as an independent country in 1971, the name of the institute was spontaneously changed to Bangladesh Agricultural Institute (BAI). Since its inception in 1938, the BAI had been functioning as a Faculty of Agriculture under Dhaka University. After the establishment of Bangladesh Agricultural University (BAU) at Mymensingh in 1961 its academic function was transferred to BAU in 1964 until its upgrade to Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University in 2001.
SAU became the 17th public university of the country in 2001. The Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Act 2001 was passed in the Parliament of Bangladesh on 9 July 2001. The foundation stone of the university was laid by the then Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina on 15 July 2001 and inaugurated the university activities through the appointment of the first vice-chancellor. SAU functioned as a university from 2001 with a single faculty, namely Faculty of Agriculture following the issuance of a notification by the government as per requirement of the Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Act 2001. On 22 June 2009, a bill was placed in the parliament to assign the president as chancellor replacing the prime minister.Agribusiness Management, the second faculty started in 2007; the third faculty Animal Science & Veterinary Medicine has been functioning from 2012 and Fisheries and Aquaculture faculty has started its functioning from January, 2017.
Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University Library is situated in a separate 6 storied building at the east wing of the university administrative building. Total area of the 6 floors is 38,880 Square Feet or 3,612 Square Metre. This library has a glorious history. It was established in 1938. At that time it was established as Bengal Agricultural Institute (BAI) on December 11, 1938. Most probably, it is the first special library of Bangladesh. The library is fully automated with RFID Technology. The library has a collection comprising the major subjects of agriculture and related subjects. The details are given below (as on 14 July, 2023)-
Hard copy books : 45,082 books (including theses);
Hard copy of journals : 138 titles;
Hard copy of theses : 4220 titles;
e-Journals : 12110 titles ( JSTOR, AGORA, HINARI and OARE ) and 32,000 journals by LiCoB;
e-Books : 2182 (approx.);
Online Books : 7346 tiles (Oxford Scholarship Online, MyiLibrary/Pearsons,
Taylor & Francis, CRCNetBase) and Wiley Online Library & 3819 titles from
Research4Life;
Institutional Repository : SAUL Archive & Digital Archive on
Agricultural Theses and Journals;
TEEAL : 2.5 Million Pages Agricultural Related Articles [LAN based The
Essential Electroic Agricultural Library]
Remote e-Access : OpenAthens
PKP : Public Knowledge Project