FE Report
Speakers at a roundtable discussion Saturday called for formulating a law to protect agricultural land across the country aiming to boost agro output and ensure food security for all.
Farmland grabbing continues unabated putting the country's food security at risk, they said at the discussion meeting organised by Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) in the city.
Advocate Rafic Ahmed Siraji presented a keynote paper at the meeting chaired by ALRD Executive Director Shamsul Huda.
Lawmaker Fazle Hossain Badsha, United National Awami Party (UNAP) president Pankaj Bhattacharya, Socialist Party of Bangladesh president Comrade Khalekuzzaman, Supreme Court lawyer advocate Tabarak Hossain, Prof Dr Abul Hossain and Bangladesh Krishok Federation president Badrul Alam spoke on the occasion.
Mr Badsha said, "I will place a bill in the parliament for protecting agricultural land and ensuring food security for all."
The lands of ultra poor, poor farmers and indigenous people are being occupied by land grabbers, he said, adding that the farmers' movement must be geared up to protect their rights and arable lands.
Mr Pankaj said the lands of farmers are being forcefully taken up without their consent and knowledge.
There would be nothing for formulating law for protecting the farmers' land and their rights, he said. "The constitution is the mother of all laws, but who are following these laws?" he questioned.
Mr Khalekuzzaman said the farmers' arable land, water bodies, canals, and rivers are being grabbed by a section of people. "So, we all should wage movement to protect the environment and farmers," he said.
Referring to the formulation of National Land Use Policy 2001, Mr Tabarak claimed that the government is cheating half-educated people and protecting land grabbers.
The main task should be to make the farmers aware of their rights, he said.
Dr Abul Hossain said the reason behind land grabbing is 'local government power structure'.
There is no food security, but the government is setting up economic zones, he added.
Mr Badrul said the law must protect the interests of the farmers.
The government should address the problems right now and must stop land grabbing. The law must be formulated for protecting the rights of farmers and indigenous people, he added.
Expressing utmost anxiety and dissatisfaction over land grabbing, participants from Jamalpur, Barguna, Gazipur and Nilphamari said a section of influential land grabbers and developers are turning agricultural land into non-farm by damaging water bodies, canals, ponds, rivers and arable land.
According to National Land Use Policy 2001, agricultural land must not be used except agricultural work. No residences, industries, brickfields and non-farm establishments cannot be constructed on farmland.
But the terms of the policy are widely violated by unscrupulous people to make personal gains.
Around one per cent agricultural land is being turned into non-farm every day, according to an ALRD report.
Around 68,700 hectares of farmland shrink every year which is 0.738 per cent of the total farmland, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
Some 30,809 hectares, 4,012 hectares and 3,216 hectares of agricultural land are being added to the housing sector, urbanisation and industrialisation and fish farming respectively, as per a BBS report.
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