Agricultural Land Protection Act to be passed in six months: Adviser

Lieutenant General (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam, Adviser to the Ministries of Agriculture and Home Affairs, has stated that the government will introduce the Agricultural Land Protection Act within the next five to six months to prevent farmland from being used for purposes other than agriculture.

He made the remarks on Wednesday while inaugurating the Farmers Mini Cold Storage in Medulia village of Dhalla Union under Singair Upazila, Manikganj.

The adviser stated that separate land would be allocated for industrial and infrastructure development. 'During road acquisition, the Roads and Highways Department provides landowners with compensation three times the land value, but LGED does not. Under the new law, landowners affected by LGED projects will also receive compensation three times the value.'

Highlighting the cold storage project, Jahangir Alam said that between the winter and summer vegetable seasons, there was usually a gap of one to one and a half months. The mini cold storage facilities are being established to help farmers preserve their vegetables during this period. In the first phase, 100 such cold storages will be set up, with more to follow. This initiative will benefit both farmers and consumers.

He further explained that in winter, vegetables such as radish, cauliflower, cabbage, and bottle gourd often see prices fall drastically, forcing farmers to sell at throwaway prices or even use them as fodder for cattle. 'If farmers can store these vegetables for some time, they can sell them later at higher prices. That is why this initiative has been undertaken,' he noted.

The adviser also mentioned that individuals could establish mini cold storages privately. If anyone was interested, financial and technical support would be provided.

Expressing concern about the practice of selling farmland's topsoil to brick kilns, he said, 'This is unjust. Destroying the topsoil hampers crop production. Farmers must not sell topsoil.'

Among those present at the event were Director General of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Md Shaiful Alam, Project Director of the Farmers Mini Cold Storage Project, Talha Zubair Masroor, Dhaka Range DIG Rezaul Karim Mallik, Deputy Commissioner Manowar Hossain Mollah, Superintendent of Police Yasmin Khatun, and District Agriculture Officer Dr Rabiah Noor, along with other officials.

According to project details, the cold storage will run on solar power during the day and electricity at night. Each unit will have a capacity of storing 5-7 tonnes of vegetables. Farmers will be charged Tk 2 per kilogram for a storage period of seven days.

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