Agriculture Minister Begum Matia Chowdhury called upon all to protect farm lands to attain food security.
She made the call on Wednesday while inaugurating as chief guest the 40th founding anniversary function of Housing and Building Research Institute (HBRI) at Darus Salam Road in the city.
Housing and Public Works Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain addressed the function as the special guest.
Housing and Public Works Ministry Joint Secretary M Bazlul Karim presided over the function while HBRI Director Mohammad Abu Sadeq delivered the welcome address.
In her brief speech, Matia Chowdhury urged all not to cut the surface of agriculture lands for making bricks. She said attention must be given to producing more food to utilize the country’s work force.
The agriculture minister stressed the need for proper implementation of the projects taken by the government.
Housing Minister Engineer Mosharraf Hossain said Bangladesh is a populous country with limited farm lands.
If planned housing system is not developed, the country may face the risk of food crisis, he said and suggested proper use of agriculture land.
The minister said the government is giving attention to implementation of different modern and realistic pilot projects to save farm lands.
HBRI Director Mohammad Abu Sadeq said 692 acres of agriculture land is dwindling in the country on an average everyday. Of this, 80 percent is being used for housing and 17.4 percent for brick fields, he added.
If this situation continues, the experts warn, the country’s food security will be hampered in near future, he added.
