Home ›› 14 Nov 2022 ›› Editorial
Enayet Ullah (aged 38) grows Aman rice at his own land. Despite the fact that some of his paddy was devastated by the Sitrang cyclone before the harvest, he is still content. It is enough for him that he was able to plant Aman rice in the circumstances he has faced since the start of the Aman rice planting season. He stated, "As the price of wheat has risen, so has the family's need for rice. Rice production should be increased in this case. However, we have been unable to produce paddy at that rate. We'll be in big trouble if we can't cultivate paddy properly in the next boro season. This is why the government must step in to save us."
Since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, there have been issues with wheat imports. Wheat imports are expected to decrease in the future. People's reliance on rice will increase if wheat imports are reduced, which has already occurred. Rice is the most important crop for the people of agricultural Bangladesh. As a result, experts believe that we should raise the target for rice production. Otherwise, dealing with the food crisis will become extremely difficult.
We have been talking about massive agricultural advancements in our country. But the truth of it is, in reality, only the production of hybrid rice, fruits and vegetables has increased, not all kinds of agricultural products. Even so, it is still insufficient to meet the country's needs. Whatever the reasons for this are, we have yet to use technology to revolutionise agriculture. That is why, our agriculture has not yet to achieve the desired results.
Over the last two and a half years, the pandemic situation and the recent Ukraine-Russia war have pushed people into tremendous crisis by causing the rise in prices of daily necessities, including the global fuel crisis. Every country is working according to its own capabilities and strategies to deal with this crisis. Despite this, the United Nations and the World Health Organization are concerned and have repeatedly warned the world. They are stating that we may soon face a variety of crises, including global famine.
The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Grains Situation Report in Bangladesh revealed an increase in food prices in Bangladesh. On October 31, the report was released. According to reports, four factors are to blame for the rise in food prices in Bangladesh. They are as follows: an increase in international market prices, an increase in shipping and other costs, an increase in the value of the dollar, and high inflation in the country. According to the report, total production of staple foods in Bangladesh has not changed significantly. Rice, maize, and wheat production will remain close to target.
Winter is an ideal time to implement various measures to tackle the food crisis. At this time, the country's staple food grains, vitamin-enriched vegetables, and so on are produced. Some of these grain and non-grain foods, such as rice, wheat, corn, soybeans, khail, etc. are used in the preparation of poultry, fish, and cattle feed. Corn has recently found some applications in human food. As a result, both the government and the private sector must pay special attention to the production of these crops. It is also necessary to be vigilant in order to ensure that all of these food grains are produced in sufficient quantities.
Agriculture is heavily reliant on electricity. Due to the current fuel crisis, there have been issues during the Amon season. The amount of rainfall was lower at the time. During the Amon season, rainfall is typically heavy, and farmers use the rainwater to prepare their paddy fields. This year, the amount of rainfall was 40 to 50 percent from June to August. Farmers had to spend a lot of money at the time on irrigating the land, because load shedding was in effect at the time. On the other hand, diesel prices also increased when fuel prices increased. Furthermore, during the Amon season, the government raised the price of urea fertiliser by 6 taka per bag. Overall, planting Aman rice has been expensive for farmers and has resulted in lower yields.
Farmers faced numerous challenges when planting Aman paddy. On top of that, the Cyclone Sitrang struck during the Aman rice harvesting. This also causes significant damage to the rice. In the coming days, we will be able to understand how much the price of rice this season will turn out to be. It is predicted that rice prices will rise. The government recently announced that it will purchase rice. The government has set a target of purchasing three lakh metric tonnes of paddy and five lakh metric tonnes of parboiled rice this year. The cost of paddy production has increased by 10% this year compared to last. Since the production costs for farmers have been higher, the government is buying paddy and rice at increased prices, specifically Tk 2 higher per kg for rice and Tk 1 higher per kg for paddy.
Humans need food to survive. Those who produce this food are doing it for the sake of their livelihood. Therefore, farmers should be provided with various forms of assistance in order to advance the agricultural production process. Instead, the government is providing more assistance to food grain importers. This is not right. If the needs and difficulties of the farmers are taken into account, then the production will increase and this will help in addressing the food crisis. Hence, farmers require assistance in this regard.
An opinion of the Former Research Director of Bangladesh Development Research Institute (BIDS), M. Asaduzzaman, was published in the daily Prothom Alo newspaper. There he said, "The price situation on the global market has made it difficult to bring rice and wheat at a low price. The government should not buy rice from abroad at a higher price, but rather buy rice from farmers in the country at a higher price. The collection targets will be met, as well as the farmers getting financially benefitted."
Care must be taken in the way electricity is used in agriculture. It is known that a small scale use of solar electricity is prevalent in some areas of the country for agriculture. The use of solar power in agriculture has become necessary due to the fuel crisis since August this year. The biggest advantage of solar power is that it does not take much time or money to set up. Therefore, using solar power in agriculture is not a difficult task. Nowadays, solar power has become indispensable in agriculture. Otherwise, agriculture will be gravely impacted.
Small farmers are unable to meet production costs in agriculture. In this case, some people across the country have been tackling it with an aggressive approach. They are cultivating the land of small farmers on lease at a nominal price. In this kind of situation, small farmers are forced to lease, but they are concerned about the ownership of their land slipping out of their hands. Many people do not want to return the land easily after taking the lease. In this case, if the farmers can be brought together and use their land through cooperative societies, then they would benefit and not have any worries about the land. The government can play an important role in bringing this issue under control. Farmers will benefit a lot from this.
As a result of the oil crisis, many businesses are closing down. Many organisations' income is declining. Many people are looking for work. People are out of work. As a result, many people are unable to eat properly or according to their needs. Many people have cutting down on their meals and food intake. It will soon have an impact on the body. Malnutrition will be a problem. Their immune systems will be compromised, and a variety of diseases may emerge. This must be taken into consideration.
The war is escalating. It shows no signs of abating. Nobody knows how long this terror will persist. It is unclear which direction the global situation will take and which groups of people will suffer the most, but it is apparent that the working class have been most severely impacted. It is necessary to stand next to such people. Again, they need to be brought under the security programme of the government. Otherwise, it will be difficult to maintain the current development trend.
Every year, the country gets hit by a cyclone. We will have to assume it can happen every year. It appears that cyclones can cause extensive damage to food grains at any time. This time, even before the Aman paddy harvest, the storm reached the Sitrang subtropical area, although its effects were felt throughout the country. It has caused significant damage to Aman rice in numerous areas. To reduce this loss in the future, it is vital to think about it now and make the necessary preparations.
The country has a large amount of khas land and fallow land. Many such lands are lying unused. They can be recovered, and the necessary cultivation or crops can be planted there. There are many fruit crops in our country that are easily grown on fallow land. That kind of fruit crop can be planted everywhere. It will make maximum use of land, and it will be useful for us.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has advised the countrymen to be thrifty to face the impending global famine and food crisis, as predicted by international organisations due to the Russia-Ukraine war. told to be careful. That is why she has also emphasised the issue of maximum use of land. The attention of all parties concerned, including the government, is necessary to ensure that the current situation does not worsen. At the same time, it is necessary to make preparations for the coming days.
The writer is a freelance columnist. She can be contacted at shanu.mostafiz@gmail.com
