The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed Thursday strongly suggested a switch from the rampant chemical-dependent farming to ensure sustainable agriculture through innovative alternatives at the soonest, as reports say chemicals may percolate into the food chain.

While praising farmers for reaping bumper harvests by tackling successive natural disasters, he stated that there is no alternative to boosting food production domestically for food security.

In this context, the head of caretaker government apprised World Food Day function that nearly 13 lakh metric tonnes of food-grains have now been stocked in government silos, which is an eight- year record.

"We have to keep in mind that while ensuring food security we don't destabilize our overall agriculture and security of farmers," he said.

The CA, however, noted that hybrid or biotechnology that

is going to be adopted in the country would not put marginal farmers in danger.

He also pointed out that country's present agriculture system is almost entirely dependent on non-renewable energy.

At the function the CA announced that Agriculture Day will be observed every year from this year in the country to recognize the farmers' untiring labour in food production for food security and also for the fact that Bangladesh is an agrarian country.

He also announced that an Agriculture Museum will be set up in Dhaka to project the country's tradition of agriculture, its problems, innovations and potentialities to new generations.

The Agriculture Ministry organized the function at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center. The theme of this year' s World Food Day is "World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bio-energy".

Agriculture Adviser Dr CS Karim presided over the function while FAO representative in Bangladesh Ad Spijkers and joint secretary of Agriculture Ministry MA Momen also spoke.

Advisers, special assistants, agriculturalists, NGO activists and government officials were also present at the World Food Day function, held at a time when the world community is facing the challenge of food insecurity and incursion of bio-fuel into granary.

The head of the caretaker government told his audience that food security is threatened due to less production of food compared to growing demand of population in various countries, crop losses due to climate change and various natural calamities in some countries.

At the same time, due to increased interest towards bio-fuels by many countries as an alternative against the backdrop of unsteadiness in prices and availability of fuel oils on the world market, crop production has fallen to an extent not seen ever before.

"The impact of climate change is visible in our country. Two successive floods and cyclone 'Sidr' last year have done massive loss to our crops production and agriculture sector as well," Fakhruddin told the function.

He said the county has carried out efforts to import food from abroad to meet the food shortages although different rice-exporting countries have stopped exporting rice.

Under this situation, Fakhruddin said his government has taken the strategy to increase food production domestically and taken various pragmatic measures to that end, including supplying agri-inputs to farmers and making sure uninterrupted supply of electricity for irrigation.

As a result, thanks to hard labour and courage of the country's

peasantry, bumper production of food crops, including rice, wheat and

potatoes, was harvested

Fakhruddin said with the combined efforts the present government has been able to stock adequate grains in the country's godowns.

The Chief Adviser also mentioned his government's various intervention programmes for building up social safety net in urban and rural areas for vulnerable, poor and lower-income groups of people to offset price rises.

The safety-net recipe includes VGF, VGD, OMS and 100-day employment-generation programme for unemployment-prone areas.

He informed that the Food for Work progarmme would begin soon and the ongoing OMS continue for next month.

Fakhruddin said for increasing food security it is not enough to give importance only to paddy production-special importance will have to be given to intensive production of other crops, including wheat, diversification of vegetables and fruit production, processing and marketing of agricultural products and development of fisheries and livestock.

"Though it is not possible to fully control the impact of climate change, but the government is carrying out various efforts to overcome problems. International coordination and awareness is needed much in this matter," he said.

At the same time, he called for domestic and international cooperation and combined efforts, including the efforts of scientists, meteorologists, farmers, public representatives and policymakers.

He observed food security means availability of adequate choice-able, safe and nutritious food all the time for maintaining capable and healthy life of all people as well as having practical and financial scope for collecting food.

Later, the CA inaugurated a two-day Agriculture Fair at the BCFCC to display varieties of farm produce, tools and technologies, and innovations.