Abul Bashar Meraz :
At present, about one-fifth of GDP is obtained from the agricultural sector. More than that, agriculture is the main source of food and nutrition security for the population of this country. Still, the employment of the large population of the country is also dependent on agriculture. As a result, more attention should be paid to agriculture in order to ensure food supply for the growing population, to improve living conditions and to create employment. The unprecedented success of agriculture in various sectors over the past half-century has been a real reflection of the current government’s agricultural thinking.
After independence, the population of Bangladesh was about 7.5 crore. Every year there was severe food shortage in the country. Hunger killed many people in famine. At present, the population of the country has exceeded nearly 18 crore. The amount of cultivated agricultural land has also decreased manifold. Yet Bangladesh is now self-sufficient in food. In this case it is possible with the tireless efforts of farmers, agronomists and researchers. So much success has come because of the mechanisation of agriculture. The plow-tillage and ‘plow-ox’ were the main cultivators of peasant farming. On the one hand due to cultivation using modern technology in agriculture, as time, labour and money are being saved, the production of crops has increased several times. As a result, farmers are increasing interest in using modern machinery. Not only the cultivation of the land, weeding, fertilizing, spraying pesticides, cutting of rice, irrigation, drying and rice from paddy are all advanced through modern machinery.
According to the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), currently about 90% of the total cultivated land of the country is cultivated mechanically. According to a recent study conducted by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) funded by the Appropriate Scale Mechanisation Innovation Hub of the Department of Farm Power and Machinery of the Bangladesh Agricultural University, if the rice seedling was transplanting instead of the traditional method save the 50% of cost. Combine Harvester saves 36 to 53 percent of the cost of the traditional method of cutting rice. In fact, under the current government, agricultural mechanisation has been very dynamic. Providing subsidy through the ‘Increase in Crop Production through Farm Mechanisation’ project provided 8,220 different types of agricultural machinery in 5 districts at a cost of 25% less. The current government has strengthened micro irrigation programmes to reduce the use of underground water by using ground water. The government has given importance to the use of ground water by implementing various irrigation programmes in water logged areas, haor and southern areas of the country. Irrigation facilities have been increased to increase irrigation facilities.
But a large part of the agricultural labourers are shifting to the industrial and transport sectors and many educated unemployed youths are moving to the city.
There is no alternative to mechanisation in agriculture to keep up with the labour crisis and agricultural productivity. As the amount of agricultural land is decreasing day by day, on the other hand, agricultural workers are moving towards the city, so it will not be possible to maintain self-sufficiency in food using only improved varieties and fertilisers. Therefore, it is possible to prevent waste by the use of proper instruments in post harvesting, harvesting and harvesting. To ensure food security, more emphasis will be placed on farming in the far reaches of the government which is also the foremost topic of the present government. To do this, it is necessary to arrange skilled agricultural engineers as well as skilled mechanics in each upazila.
Again, it is not just to invent the machine; it will not work if the farmer does not accept it. Therefore, we should also keep in mind that innovation or new invention should be such that it can be easily used by small and medium farmers. We are working to increase agricultural production through mechanisation in agriculture. We are ready to face the challenges of food security in the future. After all, only if the mechanisation of agriculture can be done properly, will the farmer’s misery be possible with increasing agricultural production of the country.
(Abul Bashar Meraz, student of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh; email: [email protected])
