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Arable land decreases alarmingly


Published : 14 Dec 2019 09:21 PM | Updated : 07 Sep 2020 08:26 PM

Agricultural arable land sharplylessening in the country. On the contrary,the demand for food is increasing. For its consequences, the agricultural land must be protectedand at the same time crop production must be increased, experts said.

Human expansion throughout the world caused that agriculture is a dominant form of land management globally. It’s influence on the land is accelerating because of rapid population growth and increasing food requirements.

Earlier, agriculture Minister AbdurRazzak said, due to urbanization and industrialization, about 65,000 hectares of agricultural land is being reduced annually. Therefore, we have givenmore importance to soil of health.

The minister said,Sheikh Hasina deeply appreciated the farmers and farmers of Bangladesh. Consequently, to reduce the cost of agricultural production to make agriculture profitable, she reduced fertilizer prices for the fifth time. Under her visionary leadership, there has been a revolution in agriculture in Bangladesh.

Construction of new roads, infrastructuresbuilding andindustries are growing. Agricultural landis being used for these purposes, later he added.

Agriculture expert Golam Kibria talking to Bangladesh Post said, the agricultural land is also reduced due to river breaks in riverine Bangladesh. For these reasons, there is no alternative to protecting agricultural land to ensure food security in the future.

Bangladesh isagriculture dependent country. The huge amount of food grains needed to meet the food demandsof the country in particular which are originates from agricultural land, he added.

Soil researcher Ruhul Amin Talukdar said,The amount of agricultural land is decreasing so rapidly that it has become a matter of customary concern. If this situation continues, it will be almost impossible to meet the country's food needs in the near future.

Growing population is one of the reasons for the decline in agricultural land. Most of which is being made in agricultural land. In addition, the effect of increasing the population is in other areas. Due to unplanned development and urbanization, a large amount of cultivable land is decreasing every year in the country, he added.

Comparisons between agricultural census 1984 and 2008 show that the area under cultivation has decreased by 7 lakh 33 thousand acres, that is, 8.8 percent in 24 years. Analysts say the decline in agricultural land is worrying.

Soil and Environment professor, Golam Mortaza said, due to the reduction of cultivated land, the production of foodgrains is less than 2 million tons per year. Therefore, the planned use of land should be ensured throughout the country. 

Besides, there is a need for widespread publicity and awareness of the planned use of the land, professorMortaza underscored.

He further mentioned that, in order to achieve self-sufficiency in food and to preserve the environment, the amount of farmland and forest land reserved in the country needed to be increased. At the same time, specific planning of urbanization and development should be covered. In this case, there is no alternative to the planned use of the land.