Almost 65 per cent of the total population of Bangladesh lives in villages. Hence, it is natural that for ‘inclusive’ development, the government must focus on them. We must give top priority to the development of villages in a planned way — preserving the sustainability and biodiversity of the villages will positively impact cities in the long run. For rural development, one often hears of providing urban facilities to rural areas. The word “Rurban” is often bandied about. However, it should be understood that modern urban areas require many complex facilities which cannot be made available in a very small scale.
It is generally difficult even to provide basic facilities for health and education in rural areas as teachers and doctors are simply not willing to live in these villages without adequate facilities for their families. As villagers get educated and leave for towns, a boost to farm productivity, non-agriculture income, rural ecology and crafts can curb urban migration, helping cities as well.
The vulnerabilities of the rural poor to the economic
and financial crisis and to climate change and water
shortage must be addressed
For sustainable rural development, developing regional connectivity is a must. Therefore, the government should attach more importance on developing rural roads. An efficient rural road network can play the most important role in improving rural livelihoods. This has now become more of a necessity for alleviating poverty in rural areas.
The government should take necessary measures to address the vulnerabilities of the rural poor to the economic and financial crisis and to climate change and water shortage. The success of sustainable rural development depends on our efforts to deal with climate change, drought, desertification and natural disaster.
The farmers and rural Bangladesh in general have the potential to not only become self-sustainable, but to largely contribute to the economic growth of the country. But the government has to provide the required support. And probably one day agriculture of the country may become remunerative enough for governments to prepare and present annual agriculture plans in Parliament and the state assemblies.
