We are now close to our present every year requirement 2,27
crore mt of rice for 13 (now 14 crore) crore people. Rice, wheat, jute
sugarcane, tobacco, oil seeds, pulses and potatoes are our principal crops.
Some important fruits and nuts are bananas, mangoes, coconuts, guavas, jack
fruits, papayas, pineapples, plums, litchis & so on. Bangladesh
Despite the fact that we are marginally deficit in food grains,
our agriculture has problems on many sides.Floods and cyclones have become a
regular feature and are crucial problems. The mid-order flood of 2002 caused
damage to land, to paddy, jute and their seeds, and vegetables worth 800 crore
tk. The destruction of havoc causing flood of 1987 and cyclone of April 1991 is
terrific. The disaster in the cyclone was estimated to be 2.7 billion in
agricultural sector. Effective measures are necessary to mitigate the colossal
loss as we are helpless against them. The situation necessitates a huge reserve
of rice. And add to this more, on account of increase of population every year.
The steps, though net rice cultivation areas increased by 2000 to 264,62 lac acres
of land, bringing of more land for cultivation, putting more land under
irrigation, although net irrigated areas increased from 11.15% in 1997 to
43.31, the raising of intensity of cropping, the reduction of dependence on
rice by taking potatoes and vegetables as food, the reducing of duration of
production and the inventing of many more high yield seeds, are required to be
undertaken. In respect of the last act BINA is helping us as it has of late
invented 33 high yield varieties of rice, and stared selecting for their trial,
BINA villages in Rangpur, Ishawardi, Magura, Comilla, Jamalpur, Satkhira. In
addition arrangements are being made for holding 400 exhibitions and for
training the farmers. Govt. needs to take more steps such as to ensure from the
public fund the damaged or destroyed houses, crop and lost cattle, poultry by
natural disasters like floods, cyclones, storms and river erosions. Our
agricultural scientists have found (2009) submergence tolerant and drought
tolerant varieties of paddy. The former can remain alive under water four times
more than those at present. Paddies of 20% of our land that floods every year
and those of bigger & occasional flooding can be saved from being
destroyed. A new African variety paddy from Uganda Bangladesh
Present practices of cultivation have engendered several
complications. Intensive cultivation has been decreasing the fertility of soil;
much thoughtless use of fertilizers and extensive use of insecticides are
making fields and water poisonous, killing vegetation and fish. Modernization
of agriculture has created a significant number of surplus agricultural labour.
New jobs are required to be generated in other sectors for them. Our farmers
are traditionally poor. They are made poorer and in the long run paupers or
agricultural laborers of the dwindling of their agricultural land for the need
of their succeeding generations, by frequent floods and cyclones during the
production seasons and many are made beggars by terrific river erosions. They
find it difficult to buy fertilizers, high yield seeds at a high price. Seeds
other than the invented ones, they produced earlier and preserved them at home
but now they are to buy from markets. There is much more difficulty in paying
for irrigation or buying motors, not to speak of buying tractors or power
tiller. Govt.'s decision in Feb, 2004 to give 95.53 crore taka as subsidy to
the agricultural sector to reduce the cost of production will make, when
executed, simply a dent in the farmer's desperate position of marginal profit.
And the most unfortunate thing is that the profit from the sale of their
products rice, jute, sugarcane is marginal and some times, nil. Their poverty
is so acute that they cannot raise livestock and poultry to diversity their
sources of earning.
The farmers or agricultural laborers are compelled to migrate to
cities and towns for their living, affecting adversely the rural economy and
jeopardizing the balanced economic development in all regions. They become slum
dwellers, degrade themselves and their environment and some have become of are
becoming corrupt. High yield variety has produced another problem. It like BR
28 entices the farmers and forces them to give up growing of low yield paddies.
Hence old varieties like hogla pata. Chapail, bashful and many others are about
to be lost. And patnai balam, Rajshahi balam, hugli balam, dud sail and other
have vanished. Information is also gathered that in Bangladesh
For the sake of rural economy, agriculture especially, some of the
migrated including the victims of river erosions must be rehabilitated e.g.
land and homestead and livestock are to be given them them free of cost. A
scheme to give these to them and the landless farmers still struggling there in
the rural areas is necessary. More and more embankments must be constructed
along the rivers to protect the farmers from terrific river erosions. and some
others living in slums in slums are required to have accommodation and
facilities of urban life as they render many essential services by odd jobs and
manual labour. Villagers should obtain seeds and fertilizers at subsidized
rate. And the use of tools, tractors, power tiller, and irrigation facilities
ought to be given free or at a nominal charge. The farmers are in need of help
and to be encouraged to plant trees especially fruit bearing trees and grow
more vegetables to diversify their sources of income and to keep them healthy
and strong. In any case, their economic conditions must be improved. We should
bear in mind that they produce food grains essential for our survival They
deserve such care and attention from the ungrateful nation.
