It is encouraging to note that agriculture is gradually becoming a major export earning sector for Bangladesh. As reported by this daily on Sunday, export earnings from agro products rose by 32.64 percent to $178.27 million in the first two months of FY21 from $134.4 million in the same period of FY20. Indeed, such a boost in agro export is the consequence of the government’s relentless efforts to boost the country’s agro economy and bring efficiency in the firm sector by enhancing export of processed agro-food.
It is very important for the government and authorities concerned to continue their concerted efforts to maintain the momentum of the country’s food production and export growth of agro-products.
Bangladesh’s agriculture has seen a revolution in the last decade. We have seen substantial growth in agro-production, invented high-yield crops, and consequently all the sub-sectors including fisheries, animal farming and processed agro-food have reported remarkable growth that indicates a sustainable food system. Also with the rapid growth of population, Bangladesh has been successful in giving a boost to its agricultural growth and equipping its agricultural sector with new technologies. As a consequence, country’s earning from the exports of agricultural products saw a whopping growth in the last couple of years.
However, maintaining the tempo of the growth would not be so easy for Bangladesh due to scarcity and degradation of arable land, impact of climate change in the forms of salinity intrusion, soil degradation and so on.
We should encourage educated youths to take
agriculture as their profession so that they can
play a significant role in developing the country’s agro sector
In climate-prone Bangladesh, agriculture is influenced by climatic variables such as temperature, rainfall, humidity and so on. Here production of crops, particularly rice, is often constrained by different hazards such as floods, droughts, soil and water salinity, cyclones and tidal surges. Hence, the authorities concerned should address the consequences of climate change as a major threat to the country’s optimum crop production and overall agricultural output. In this regard, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute should work for diversifying the cropping system introducing new varieties.
Also in order to keep the momentum of the current growth of agro export unhindered, we should integrate efficient technologies, accrue agricultural research, diversify agricultural production and improve market linkages for small-holder farmers. Last but not least, we should encourage educated youths to take agriculture as their profession so that they can play a significant role in developing the country’s agro sector.