RAJSHAHI, Oct 22, 2018 (BSS) – Experts suggested mobilization of school
children along with others to spearhead an anti-rat campaign saying the
notorious pest alone eat up nearly 4 percent of the country’s annually
produced food grains and vegetables.
“Rats appeared to be a threat to our food security system . . . we can
ensure the food security spearheading a successful campaign,” Additional
Director of Department Agriculture Extension (DAE) Mustafizur Rahman told the
inauguration of an annual rat killing drive at the DAE’s zonal office in
Rajshahi.
Eco-friendly rat management can be the vital means of protecting many
beneficial insects together with maintaining a sound environment. Bio-pest
management system should be promoted among the growers widely to protect the
beneficial insects from degradation for the sake of maintaining a sound
environment and that is very important for a sound ecosystem.
Divisional commissioner of Rajshahi Nur-Ur-Rahman, who joined the function
as the chief guest, suggested involvement of the country thousands of school
children in the rat annihilation campaign. He urged the field-level officials
and staffs concerned to motivate all the members of Integrated Crop
Management (ICM) and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as well as school
children and others concerned to take part in the drive so that it could be
succeeded.
He said coordinated involvement of particular ethnic groups of people who
consume rats as food could also be an effective was of making the drive a
total success.
According to statistics the country’s annual cereal food production last
year was 37.266 million metric tons while the vigitable yield was 3.06
million tones while rats destroyed some 1.5 million tonnes of the total
production.
Experts say a pair of rats can give birth to about 3,000 offspring yearly
to cause havoc for the crop production and added annihilation of the harmful
creature would affect little the ecological balance.
DAE’s deputy director Joynal Abedeen presented the keynote paper at the
function narrating various aspects of rat killing and urged all concerned to
extend their cooperation in this regard.
He says all insects are not harmful for the crops but the chemical
pesticides or insecticides are more or less dangerous for both human health
and other beneficial insects.
He, however, says the destructive as well as the injurious insects can
easily be controlled through promoting eco- friendly method of using organic
fertilizer and indigenous insecticides instead of chemical ones.
Principal Scientific Officer of Fruit Research Station Alim Uddin and
Deputy Director of Regional Horticulture Research Center Dr Saifur Rahman
also spoke at the function.