Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud said Bangladesh's achievements in agriculture have taken the world by surprise. Food production of the country has quadrupled in the last 50 years, much to the surprise of not only the world but also the World Food Programme.
Dr Hasan said Bangladesh is presented to the world today as a case study. The country that has the lowest per capita agricultural land in the world, the highest human density, the highest impact of climate change, which is a constant, almost half of the land that is submerged in floods every year, has been able to cope with the amazing increase in agricultural production. Examples in front of the world.
He was speaking as the chief guest at a seminar on "50 Years of Victory: Achievements in Agriculture" organized by the Bangladesh Agricultural Economists Association at the Agricultural Research Council auditorium at Farmgate in the capital on Thursday afternoon.
State Minister for Planning Professor Dr Sajjadul Hasan, former senior secretary in the Prime Minister's Office, President of the Bangladesh Agricultural Economists Association. Shamsul Alam spoke as special guest. Secretary of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and Agricultural Economist Md Maqbool Hossain and Haji Mohammad Danesh University of Science and Technology Vice-Chancellor Prof M Kamruzzaman highlighted the country's achievements in agriculture and future plans. sDescribing the contribution of agriculturists and farmers as the greatest for the wonderful achievements in agriculture, the Information and Broadcasting Minister said that agriculturists have developed high yielding and coastal cultivable salinity tolerant varieties of crops, these are the country’s resources, resources for the world. . Bangladesh is the 92nd largest country in the world in terms of area but fourth in rice production, seventh in freshwater fish production and seventh in potato production. When the earthquake hit Nepal, Bangladesh delivered 30,000 metric tonnes of rice. This has been possible not because of any magic but because of the magical leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
At the same time, Dr Hasan Mahmud said the amount of agricultural land in Bangladesh has decreased by 25 to 30 percent in the last 50 years due to unplanned housing and factories. Now 30 percent of the people are urban dwellers, after 15 years it will be about 50 percent. At the same time, due to climate change, the productivity of land has also decreased. Agricultural land in the country is declining at the rate of one percent every year. After twenty years, everyone needs to think that production will not be possible like today even if government use all the innovations.
The Information and Broadcasting Minister said that in order to meet the future challenges, an integrated plan is needed to maintain the growth of agricultural production by integrating urban agriculture with mainstream agriculture and the advice of State Minister for Agriculture Shamsul Alam will be taken forward.
State Minister for Planning Prof Shamsul Alam described agriculture as the biggest foundation of this naturally green country and said that there is no alternative to sustainable and up-to-date agricultural economy to sustain development.
