Agriculture deserves to be recognised as a profession

The huge strides made by Bangladesh in agricultural production and productivity despite the gradual shrinking of cultivable land as well as adverse impacts of climate change have attracted the attention of the global community. Alongside the staple foodgrain paddy, the production of maze, wheat, vegetables, fruits, and even flowers have continuously risen over the years. Besides, the crop sector, fisheries, poultry and dairy sector outputs have also increased manifold during the past three decades. Commercial farming is fast gaining ground in place of traditional farming methods. Its main characteristic is innovation of high-yielding and hybrid seeds, artificial reproduction of livestock, mechanisation of agriculture, timely supply and application of agricultural inputs like irrigation, fertilisers and seeds, and expansion of agricultural credit, subsidies and agricultural extension services.

Favourable and supportive agro-policies as well as involvement of and investments by the private sector in agro-businesses have been a driving force in this success. As a result, considerable progresses have been attained in poverty alleviation, rise in income and employment generation, and enhancement of food-cum-nutritional security. Communications have improved in the rural areas due to proliferation of roads and mobile telephony networks. The peasants, farm workers, middlemen traders, shopkeepers, and agro-businessmen are now more aware about the changing market scenario than ever before. They now easily get information about the varieties and prices of various commodities in different markets, transportation, preservation and processing of agricultural goods etc. through the mass media including newspapers, internet, radio and television.

The most notable aspect has been the invention of new varieties of crops as well as innovation of improved production technologies by local agricultural research institutions during the past few decades. The profitable and highly promising agricultural technologies have spread very fast through the mass media as well as agricultural extension services. Innumerable male and female entrepreneurs in the rural areas have thrived by investing in income-generating agricultural pursuits like fish farming in the ponds, vegetable farming, fruit gardening, horticulture, poultry and dairy farming. The productivity and income of farmers have been on the rise due to the application of improved techniques and technology.

Despite a growing population of 170 million, Bangladesh has succeeded in becoming self-reliant in foodgrain production during the past few decades. Much of the credit for this goes to our agricultural scientists involved in rice research. An article published in 2015 in the prestigious Christian Science Monitor commented that Bangladesh had become a rising lower middle-income country despite acute shortages of food in the past. Yesterday's bottomless basket has now become surplus in rice production.

Bangladesh is now ranked fourth in the world in terms of paddy output. The achievement of this self-sufficiency or surplus food production has not been achieved in one day. Agro-friendly policies of the government, relentless efforts of the rice researchers and tireless labour of the farmers have led to this success. Now the question arises whether it would be sustainable in the long run. That is because, the biggest challenges to sustainable food security include a growing population, declining assets like land, labour, water etc., and the adverse impacts of climate change like erratic floods, droughts, salinity, water-logging etc. Long-term plans, programmes and measures are required for combating these challenges.

The production of paddy has increased by 0.34 million tons per year during the past decade. Rice production was a record 38.6 million tons during the previous fiscal year. If this upward trend continues, the production of rice would be 47.2 million tons in 2050. Against this output, the rice required for feeding a projected population of 215.40 million then would be 44.6 million tons. This is at present the sustainable long-term goal for achieving self-sufficiency in foodgrain production in the country.

Bangladesh has also achieved remarkable progress in fruit production in recent years, as the country is now ranked number 1 in the world in terms of growth rate of fruits output. But it was not long ago when the people of this country had to fetch fruits mainly from woods and jungles. The feudal lords and landed gentry used to nurture gardens for different fruits like mango, jackfruit, banana, papaya, litchi etc. in the past. The ordinary peasants used to produce fruits by planting trees around their homes and pond-banks. The common people were not conscious about the essential need for keeping some fruits in their daily menu of food intakes. The townships and villages lacked large-scale fruit markets. Fruit stalls were seen only around hospitals as medicinal supplements for the patients. But now arrangements are in place for marketing of fruits, stretching from the urban neighbourhoods in towns up to the union levels in the rural areas. All these prove that fruits have now been incorporated in the daily menu of eatables among a large segment of our population. At 12.1 million metric tons, Bangladesh has now produced the highest ever quantity of fruits this year.

How could this amazing success be achieved? In fact, concerted and well-directed efforts by many stakeholders are largely responsible for this breakthrough. Well-planned and coordinated endeavours of our hardworking peasants, nursery entrepreneurs, agricultural scientists, extension workers and the government supports have resulted in this revolutionary progress. The agricultural research institutions of the country have invented 81 high-yielding varieties of 34 fruits, while the Germ-plasm Centre of Bangladesh Agriculture University has invented cultivation technologies for 84 high-yielding varieties of 25 fruits. A powerful network of agricultural extension department workers, BADC (Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation) outlets and about 12 thousand nursery owners that extended these technologies up to the farmers' level made fundamental contributions to the increase in fruit output. Technologies have also been invented for cultivation of some foreign fruits in Bangladesh. All in all, fruits have now become one of the principal nutritious-cum-commercial agricultural commodities in Bangladesh.  

Fishes are the silvery crops of Bangladesh. They have remained the most favourite dish of the Bangalis for many centuries. It is known that fish has been cultivated in this subcontinent since 350 BC. Fish cultivation got momentum in this country especially since the start of artificial insemination for carp-type of fishes in 1967. The aim was then cultivation of carp fishes only. But now, many kinds of fishes are being cultivated including Pangas, Tilapia, Koi, Pabda, Gulsha, Shing, Magur etc. Bangladesh is now ranked third in the world in terms of fish production from natural sources, fifth in overall fish production, and 11th in marine fisheries output.

Alongside fish cultivation, successes have also been achieved in fish-catching. Around half a million tons of Hilsa fish will be extracted this year. Food assistance amounting to about 40 thousand metric tons is being extended now each year. Besides, 3.1 million families are being provided with about 8 (eight) thousand metric tons of food during the 22-day ban on Hilsa-catching during reproductive season. Hilsa has also received recognition in 2017 as a GI commodity of Bangladesh. Besides, the country exported shrimps worth Taka 36.82 billion during 2016-17. Implementation of various programmes like introduction of tax-holiday scheme for fish cultivation, waiver of duties for fish-related raw materials, ID cards for fishermen, extension of food assistance to fishermen families for preserving Jatka fish, temporary embargoes on fish-catching, establishment of safe sanctuaries for fishes, as well as the labour, toils and self-sacrificing mentality of the fishermen community have led to this silvery revolution in Bangladesh.    

Many challenges have to be tackled in the future in order to sustain this progress in the agriculture sector. We should recognise agriculture as a profession in due acknowledgment of the contribution of the sector to the economy of the country. More successes can be achieved if the government continues to play a supportive role through provision of facilities and incentives and the private sector entrepreneurs continue to make larger and more extensive investments in the agro-business, crop transportation, processing, preservation and trading sectors.    

Dr. Helal Uddin Ahmed is a former editor of Bangladesh Quarterly. [email protected]