National Desk :
Integrated efforts of all the government and non-government organizations concerned can be the best way for protecting agriculture in Rajshahi Barind area as its living and livelihood condition is largely dependent on agriculture.
At present, the conventional farming system is facing a number of challenges due to various reasons, including the adverse impact of climate change, so time-fitting steps has become crucial to face the challenges.
Agricultural scientists and researchers came up with the observations while sharing their respective views in a multi-sectoral consultation held virtually on Tuesday.
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hosted the meeting in association with the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP) largely joined by scientists, researchers and others concerned.
The meeting discussed and devised ways and means on how to promote the agriculture system in Barind area through facing all the existing challenges for the sake of ensuring food security of the gradually rising population.
Joint Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture Tajkera Khatun, Senior Agriculture Sector Development Expert of FAO Bangladesh Dr. Moin Us Salam, Assistant FAO Representative (Programme) Nur Ahamed Khondaker and its National Consultant (Programme) Anil Kumar Das addressed the meeting as resource persons.
Dr Shakhawat Hossain, Senior Scientific Officer of On-Farm Research Division in Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, gave an illustration on farming system of Barind along with the existing challenges during his keynote presentation.
He opined that instead of depending on only Irri-Boro farming, emphasis should be given to the promotion of less-irrigation consuming cereal crops in Barind area to lessen the gradually mounting pressure on underground water
Large-scale promotion of less-water consuming crops could be an effective means of mitigating the condition of water crisis in the drought-prone Barind area.
Dr Hossain mentioned that there are enormous scopes of increasing the acreage of various low-water consuming crops like wheat, black gram, sesame, lentil, maize and pulse in the high Barind tract.
He also underscored the need for making agriculture profitable and commercialized to ensure sustainable farming promotion of high-valued crops.
Additional Director of the Department of Agriculture Extension Sirazul Islam and its Deputy Director Abdul Awal, Principal Scientific Officer of Soil Resource Development Institution Dr Nurul Islam, Project Coordinator of DASCOH Foundation Jahangir Alam Khan and Principal Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute Dr Fazlul Islam took part in the open discussion.
Superintending Engineer Dr Abul Kashem said the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) has a significant contribution towards making the Barind area a multiple cropping zone at present instead of single one through providing irrigation.
But time has come to reduce the farming of Irri-Boro paddy through promoting the less-water consuming wheat, maize, pulses, oilseeds and spices. “We have to change the mandate of BMDA”, he added.
All the authorities concerned and farmers should come forward and work together to this end. Farmers in the hard Barind area need time-befitting training and motivation on how to cultivate more less-irrigated crops to lessen the existing pressure on groundwater.
Dr Kashem viewed that there is no alternative to encouraging the farmers to promote various cereal crops and vegetables instead of only Irri-Boro paddy on the dried land to face the water stress condition.
