The Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI; ) is a statutory research institute under the Ministry of Agriculture responsible for agricultural, technological and textile research on jute and related fibre crops.
Its research covers improved varieties of jute and allied fibre crops, crop production and seed technology, diversified jute products, processing technology and textiles made from jute blended with cotton and other fibres.
History
BJRI traces organised jute research in Dhaka to the early twentieth century. The institute states that research on jute began in 1904 under R. S. Finlow. Institutional research developed further in 1936 when the Indian Central Jute Committee established the Jute Agricultural Research Laboratory in Dhaka.
After the Partition of India in 1947, the Pakistan Central Jute Committee replaced the Indian Central Jute Committee. In 1951, the laboratory was reorganised as the Jute Research Institute at its present Dhaka site.
After the independence of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Jute Research Institute Act, 1974 established the institute as a statutory body. The Act was deemed to have taken effect from 10 November 1973.
The 1974 Act was repealed and re-enacted through the Bangladesh Jute Research Institute Act, 2017. The 2017 law continued the existing institute as a statutory body and updated its mandate to include agricultural and technological research, improved and high-yielding varieties, production technologies and diversified uses of jute.
Research activities
BJRI organises its research into three broad areas: agricultural research, technological research and jute-textile research. Agricultural research includes development of improved varieties of jute and allied fibre crops, crop-management practices, seed production, plant protection, retting and adaptation to different environmental conditions.
Technological research covers processing and higher-value uses of jute, including modification of jute fibre, composite materials, geotextiles, chemical processing and development of diversified jute products. Jute-textile research includes the production and testing of yarns and fabrics combining jute with cotton and other natural or synthetic fibres.
The institute also provides training to researchers, agricultural officers, farmers and personnel involved in jute processing and production.
Research centres and gene bank
BJRI operates a network of research facilities outside its Dhaka headquarters. Its agricultural research network includes the Jute Agricultural Experimental Station at Manikganj, regional research centres at Rangpur, Faridpur, Kishoreganj and Chandina in Cumilla District, research sub-stations at Tarabo in Narayanganj, Monirampur in Jashore and Kalapara in Patuakhali, and a jute seed production and research centre at Nashipur in Dinajpur.
The Manikganj experimental station, established in 1976, is the principal field research centre for much of BJRI's agricultural research and also produces breeder and quality-declared jute seed.
BJRI maintains a gene bank for jute and allied fibre crops. Its 2025–26 research programme reported 6,096 germplasm accessions of indigenous and exotic origin, including varieties and breeding materials of jute and related fibre crops.
Jute genomics
BJRI participated in a Bangladeshi research consortium that sequenced the genome of tossa jute in 2010. The project was led by geneticist Maqsudul Alam and involved researchers from BJRI, the University of Dhaka, DataSoft and institutions in Malaysia and the United States.
Following the initial genome work, the government funded the Basic and Applied Research on Jute programme at BJRI to use genomic information in the development of higher-yielding and stress-tolerant varieties.
In 2013, the same broader research programme announced the genome sequence of deshi or white jute, completing genome sequencing work on the two principal cultivated jute species.
Crop improvement
The institute develops jute, kenaf and mesta varieties for different growing conditions and carries out research on yield, fibre quality, disease resistance and environmental stress tolerance.
Among the varieties developed through BJRI research are jute lines adapted to saline conditions. In 2015, The Daily Star reported successful farmer-level cultivation of a salinity-tolerant jute variety developed through BJRI research in Kalapara, Patuakhali, after approval by the National Seed Board.
Current breeding programmes also use the institute's germplasm collection and genomic information to identify material suitable for higher yield, fibre quality and tolerance to environmental stresses.
See also Jute industry in Bangladesh Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation Jute cultivation Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Maqsudul Alam
References