RANGPUR, Sept 19, 2021 (BSS) – Bangladesh has achieved a laudable success in adapting to climate change as a result of which the country's agriculture sector is taking a sustainable shape increasing food production constantly.
The impressive success achieved in adapting to climate change alongside adoption of modern technologies and mechanisation of agriculture is helping farmers in increasing food production, even during the Covid-19 pandemic period.
Agriculture experts and environmentalists said Bangladesh is moving ahead to achieve agricultural sustainability by increasing food production overcoming all sorts of constraints, including changing climate.
“Continuous research for innovation and expanded cultivation of climate smart crop varieties adopting profitable cropping patterns are becoming effective to increase food productivity,” noted Agriculturist Dr Md Abdul Mazid told BSS.
Dr Mazid, a recipient of the Independence Award-2018 in the food security category, highly lauded various time-befitting pragmatic steps taken by the government in the last 12 years for adapting to changing climate to increase food productivity.
Expanded cultivation of climate smart crops, adoption of proven technologies, best farm practices, balanced fertilisation and pest control and expansion of irrigation facilities are major reasons behind the increase in food production.
“Bangladesh produced 37.40 million metric tonnes of clean rice in 2020 in addition to other cereal crops making the country self-reliant on food for its 16 crore population on the way to attain the sustainable development goals by 2030,” he said.
The growth in rice production would continue to increase following various pragmatic steps of the government to further enhance its output by almost one and a half times by 2050 to feed a probable 22-crore population that time.
Dr Mazid, also a former Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), said farmers are now using advanced and eco-friendly agriculture technologies and practices almost having no adverse effects on the environment.
“For a sustainable agriculture amid a changing climate, we have to ensure effective extension of services, improved technologies and proven practices among farmers using video-based training to resolve agricultural and natural resource problems,” he said.
Dr Mazid particularly suggested adopting resource-conserving and conservation agriculture technologies, practices, integrated pest and nutrient management, reduced tillage and agroforestry for sustainable agriculture.
“Reaching quality seed of high yielding crops and transferring technologies for seed production of hybrid crops to farmers’ level alongside providing necessary ICT- based training on latest technologies are crucial to increase food productivity,” Dr Mazid said.
Additional Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Rangpur region, Agriculturist Bidhu Bhusan Ray said food production continued increasing during the last 12 years in Rangpur agriculture region as elsewhere in the country.
Farmers produced 34.22-lakh tonnes of rice and wheat in five districts of Rangpur region during the 2016-2017 seasons against 18.90-lakh tonnes food demand of 1.61-crore population with 15.32-lakh tonnes surplus food then.
“Production of rice continued increasing during the 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020 seasons and so on, even during the Covid-19 pandemic period, in Rangpur agriculture region,” Ray added.
Senior Coordinator (Agriculture and Environment) of RDRS Bangladesh Agriculturist Mamunur Rashid said food production would further increase as farmers are using quality seeds of climate smart crops and latest technologies now in crop cultivation.