IN latest news covered by a leading English daily, it has been unearthed that around 2,096 bighas of farmland and water bodies were lost to non-agricultural uses a day in the decade since 2003. A study called ‘Increasing commercialisation of agricultural land and contract farming in Bangladesh: an alternative appraisal’ revealed that most of the lost lands were converted to homesteads while the second largest chunk (17.4 percent) was eaten up for the construction of schools, clinics, mosques and roads. This significantly hinders food production and has been increasing the hardship of farmers and the general populace gradually, right under our noses.
Agricultural commercialisation is high in Cox’s Bazar, Kushtia and Manikganj districts followed by Rajshahi, Natore, Rangamati and Habiganj and was low in the remaining four districts studied, according to reports. Reports also added that the average loss of farmland was 2,000 bighas a day or 7.3 lakh bighas a year while for water bodies it was 96 bighas daily or 35,040 bighas a year. The President of the Bangladesh Economic Association said that the rising commercial cultivation is responsible for the transfer of lands to cultivation of non-food items like tobacco. He added that the commercialisation of agriculture in Bangladesh started after the introduction of green revolution in the 1960s, which accelerated in the ’80s and ’90s, increasing the rate of transfer of lands from the poor and marginalised people to the rich and upper middle classes, also changing crop production patterns. Food adulteration is also seen to be an inevitable outcome of commercial food production, according to the report. Even more alarming is the extensive application of green revolution technologies, which are continuously hurting soil fertility, experts said. Imposing high tax on environmentally hurtful tobacco and shrimp farming and prevention of land grabbing were suggested as ways to deal with the lessening of land.
There is no adequate government policy in place to deal with the increasing loss of agricultural land. In fact, the present trend of development and policy appears to favour the status quo. Unless immediate notice is taken of this situation and adequate policies are developed by the government to salvage the ever shrinking farmlands, much of Bangladesh’s achievements in dealing with the evils of food shortage and malnutrition will be in vain. The policy shortcomings of our myopic leadership will be of little solace if we lose our much vaunted food security. Alternative ways of food — such as the deals some of our commercial companies have made with East African nations will go a long way towards ensuring our food safety.
