RANGPUR, Aug 31, 2019 (BSS) – Ensuring best use of cultivable, homestead, roadside and sandy char lands has become crucial to enhance crop output adopting newer cropping patterns to attain sustainable food security despite changing climate.
Talking to BSS, agriculturists termed the issue of food security as the most vital global issue now when changing climate is threatening the agriculture and all other sectors affecting crop cultivation and food production.
Agriculturist Dr. Md. Abdul Mazid, who got the Independence Medal (food security) last year, said the increasing trend of food production must be continued making best use of lands for maintaining social peace, stability and harmony.
“Under changing climatic conditions, Bangladesh is moving toward right direction in ensuring best use of lands to increase food production consistently in last ten years on its way to achieve agricultural sustainability,” he said.
The farmers, common people and char dwellers are cultivating various crops on the main lands, homesteads, roadside areas, char lands and dried up riverbeds to increase crop productivity.
Citing statistics of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), Dr. Mazid said Bangladesh is now producing over 3.50-crore tonnes of food annually making the country self-reliant on food for its 16-crore population.
“The present government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken various pragmatic steps to increase food output minimum by 1.5 times within 2050 for feeding the country’s probable 22 crore population then,” he said.
Dr Mazid, a former Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, said farmers have started using eco-friendly and climate-resilient agricultural technologies and practices having almost no effects on the ecosystems.
Along with ensuring optimum use of lands, he stressed on using conservation agriculture based technologies and proven practices like integrated pests’ and nutrient management and cultivation of less water consuming crops for sustainable agriculture.
“Reaching quality seeds of high yielding crops and transferring technologies for seed production of hybrid crops and necessary training on the latest technologies to farmers are also essential to further increase food productivity,” Dr. Mazid said.
Suggesting for continuous research on innovation and cultivation of stress-tolerant crop varieties, he put importance on mechanisation of agriculture, balanced fertilization and irrigation facilities to boost food output to make farm activities more profitable.
Chairman of North Bengal Institute of Development Studies Agriculturist Dr. Syed Samsuzzaman said climate change impacts have affected the agriculture and other sectors affecting crop production and threatening the global food security.
“We must ensure best use of cultivable lands to increase crop yield under growing threat of changing climate remembering that the cultivable land area is continuously shrinking in the country where the growth of population continues to rise consistently,” he added.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid farmers should be educated to make best use of their land and adapt to adverse situations those are hampering food production.
Additional Director of the DAE for Rangpur region Muhammad Ali laid emphasis on maximum use of land adopting vegetables-based cropping pattern to increase crop output and enable farmers reaping maximum profits for sustainable agriculture.
Suggesting for ensuring maximum use of cultivable land, he urged agriculture scientists to innovate newer stress-tolerant crop varieties suitable for cultivation to keep food production increasing round the year despite changing climate.