About 40.6% of the total workforce in Bangladesh is engaged in agriculture, as per data showed by Bangladesh Economic Survey 2019. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 46.61% of households of the country are dependent on agriculture. Besides, World Bank says, agriculture is the source of income for 87% of rural people in Bangladesh. The country’s GDP growth comes mainly from 5 sectors of which agriculture is one. The contribution of agriculture to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Bangladesh is 16.6%. So Bangladesh is still a major agricultural country.
However, the country’s agricultural system is largely dependent on nature. Floods, droughts, heavy rains and salinity in coastal areas have repeatedly hampered the agricultural production of Bangladesh for many years. Moreover, as a result of not using modern technology in agriculture, we have not got the expected yield in the past years. Farmers have faced many problems especially during harvesting. Again, due to the use of more chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the land, the lands have gradually lost their fertility. Climate change is undoubtedly going to have a negative impact on agriculture in the near future. So we need to adopt a sustainable agricultural system from now on. In this context, some short-term and long-term plans can be adopted.
The concept of organic farming is not new in agriculture. But we have to think anew about it. From the sixties, due to the continuous use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the name of “Green Revolution”, the land has lost its fertility and the ecosystem has destroyed. Soil microorganisms act as organic fertilizers in the soil and increase soil fertility. But due to excessive use of chemical fertilizers, they are disappearing from nature. So in this changed situation we have to look back. To build a sustainable agricultural system, we have to think anew about organic farming. Originally organic farming is a realistic method that guarantees crop production as well as sustainable environment. This is a dynamic process. Crops or products produced in this way are called “organic food”. When land is cultivated organically, the soil is always fertile and this fertility continues to increase. Moreover, it enhances the biodiversity of the land. In organic farming farm manure, compost manure, waste manure, poultry manure, tar powder, ash, earthworms etc. are used as fertilizer. And the juice of leaves, stems, roots or bark is used as pesticide.
With rapid population growth we are losing our cultivable land. In this case, hydroponic farming can be an alternative method to provide food to the growing population. In this way it is possible to cultivate crops without soil. In that case the crop is cultivated in the water by adding the necessary nutrients of the plants to the water. By cultivating in hydroponic method it is possible to get 2-3 times more yield than usual. Insects are also relatively easy to control with this method.
A large part of the southern area of our country is submerged during the monsoon. Then many cultivable lands also became unfit for cultivation. In that case floating cultivation can be an option. Although this is being done in some parts of the country, it is time to implement it on a large scale. In this method, floating beds are made by decomposing water hyacinth, dulalilata, algae and various grasses together. In this method the agricultural production is 10 times more thanthe conventional one.
It is important to have a good idea about the weather in order to have a sustainable agricultural system. The weather has a close relationship with agricultural work. In developed countries, in case of growing a particular crop in a particular area, the crop is selected and planted by considering the climate of that area over the past few years. Suitable crop varieties are selected for an area considering the weather, humidity, rainfall, dew, evaporation, temperature, salinity, soil quality and possible natural disasters. Thus the farmer is protected from possible environmental / natural damage and the crop production is greatly increased.
After production and harvest of the crop, it is normally marketed for the consumer. But in our country there is flaw in this market system. As farmers are deprived of their fair share due to middlemen in the market system, consumers are also forced to buy goods at higher prices. Almost all of the profit goes into the pocket of the middleman. Another problem is marketing system and infrastructural defects. In our country large quantities of food grains are wasted every year due to weakness of marketing system and infrastructural defects. According to the Department of Agricultural Extension, about 14% of the total food grains produced in the country are wasted every year due to flaws in the marketing system. The amount is about 42 lakh tons. In order to build a sustainable agricultural system, the market system needs to be made more advanced, modern and timely.
Sustainable agriculture guarantees our food as well as a sustainable environment and benefits the farmers. It is possible to build a sustainable agricultural system by adopting the above measures. Therefore, thinking about the future, the country has to build a sustainable agricultural system from now on.
(Ms. Afsana is a Masters Fellow, Department of Agronomy, Patuakhali Science & Technology University)
