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Maintaining biodiversity of soil is a must to ensure future food security, experts observed at a seminar on Saturday.
To raise food output for a growing population, maintaining good health of soil is an indispensible part of agricultural practice, they viewed.
The experts came up with the opinions at the seminar organised by the agriculture ministry at a city hotel on the eve of World Soil Day- 2020.
Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI), Food and Agriculture Organization of UN, Practical Action Bangladesh (PAB) and Soil Science Society of Bangladesh (SSSB) were also co-organisers.
The day was observed in Bangladesh with the theme 'Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity'.
Agriculture Minister Dr Mohammad Abdur Razzaque while speaking as the chief guest through online, said population has been rising by 2.2 million heads every year.
"We have a great challenge ahead of raising food production to feed the rising population", he added.
To maintain a sustainable growth in crop production, it is now imperative to maintain sound health of soil, remarked.
He said biodiversity of soil is necessary for producing nutrition rich quality food.
The minister also inaugurated a 'soil museum software' and unveiled the cover of a book titled 'Land Degradation in Bangladesh'.
Fisheries and Livestock Minister S M Rezaul Karim, Agriculture Secretary Mesbahul Islam spoke as special guests while Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council Executive Chairman Sheikh Mohammad Bakhtiar , SRDI Director General Bidhan Kumar Bhandar, FAO Bangladesh Representative Robert D Simpson, additional secretary of agriculture Md Hasanuzzaman Kallol also spoke, among others.