The New Nation - Internet Edition

BANGLADESH is losing one per cent of its agricultural land every year, agriculture experts said on the occasion of the World Food Day 2008 observed in the city the other day. Although Bangladesh is one of the major rice-producing countries of the world, lack of policy support for farmers and adverse climate change are the main barriers to ensuring food security. In fact, Bangladesh ranks fourth, after China. India and Indonesia, in rice production, but lack of land reform and suitable technology transfer at the field level has prevented it from further increasing the production of rice.

Moreover, negative impacts of climate change on agriculture and soaring food and input prices are posing extra challenges to the survival of millions of the landless and marginal farmers whose livelihood almost entirely depends on agriculture. The widespread creation of awareness on ways to increase agricultural production and improve livelihood security can be ensured by more intensive research and adoption of technologies adapting to climate change. Timely supply of agricultural inputs and development of rural infrastructure including irrigation, processing and marketing facilities are priority issues needing immediate attention.

The government's efforts to feed the country's 150 million people - and with two million new mouths to feed every year from a limited supply of agricultural land with access as low as 0.06 hectare per person - is acclaimed abroad as mentioned by the country representative of FAO. However, with one percent of agricultural land being occupied each year for other uses the rate of growth in agricultural yield has already started to stagnate. Prime agricultural lands are used not only for building homesteads and industries but also for erecting mobile phone transmission towers, among others. A land use plan for stopping such indiscriminate destruction of farmland is thus an urgent need of the hour.