Food security through family farming

The 2014 World Food Day was observed on October 16 recognising the worldwide phenomenon of hunger with the theme 'Family farming: Feeding the world, caring the earth'.

The theme underscores the importance of household agriculture for better food security as well as for safer foods.

What is worrying is that the number of the country's agricultural households is declining gradually. Decades of price and social deprivations, and increasing commercial opportunities in the cities are forcing a large number of farmers to quit farming. This is a threat to food security in the country as 1.9 million people are being added to the population every year.

Bangladesh has hardly achieved self-sufficiency in rice and potato and is still an import-dependent one on most of the commodities including wheat, sugar, pulse, edible oil, spices and even for fish.

The plunge in farm households is indicative that the government programme 'One home, one farm' could not be implemented in the country.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) and Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), the number of the country's farm households stand at 15.3 million now which was 178.3 million in 2001 -- a 14.18 per cent reduction in a decade.

A report on the loss of agricultural land based on the study carried out by Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) suggested an increasingly declining trend in land available for agriculture. Between 1976 and 2000, around 13,412 hectares of agricultural land was lost.

In contrast, in the subsequent period from 2000 to 2010, over 30,000 hectares of land were lost in only ten years. Rapid urbanisation with new roads and highways, as well as the growing population are occupying a vast tract of agricultural land.

Experts opined that self-sufficiency in only rice and potato -- two key sources of carbohydrate -- can't ensure sustainable food security with an import-based supply of food items rich in vitamin, protein, minerals and milk.

The country needs to adopt a dynamic agricultural policy giving thrust on proper use of modern technology to ensure increased production of vitamin, protein and mineral-rich food items. To feed 1.9 million additional people every year, Bangladesh has to adopt time-befitting policies and research initiatives targeting the farm households.

The agricultural households should be ready to feed the country's future generation. They need also to be protected as food can be non-exchangeable item anytime in crisis periods as witnessed in the past.

Experts have also expressed their concern about ill effects of aggressive expansion of tobacco on food security and human health. Recent statistics clearly indicate that tobacco-producing land and production both have doubled in four years in the country.

According to BBS, the tobacco acreage was 48,867.41 hectares in 2010-11. The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) statistics showed a steep rise in tobacco farming over the four years thereafter -- up to 108,000 hectares as in 2014.

The lure of short-term profits from raising tobacco often lures farmers to abandon the farming of traditional staple crops that feed and nourish people, especially vulnerable segments of the population.

Transitioning out of tobacco will not only ensure better future for Bangladeshi farmers but also help to address food-security concerns created by tobacco farming. In Bangladesh tobacco use kills more than 57,000 people each year.

Those who don't die from tobacco-related diseases can suffer from several debilitating diseases, including cancer, heart and lung disease.

In Bangladesh, as in other developing countries, many acutely toxic poisons are still widely used in agriculture despite being banned internationally because of their known effects on human health and the environment. This is an important consideration for the World Food Day, which highlights people's right to a healthy and secure food supply.

Because of the need to protect agricultural crops against pests and help feed a growing population, pesticide use in Bangladesh has doubled since the early 1990s. However, farmers are failing to take appropriate measures to protect themselves.

A recent survey by the World Bank found that almost all farmers sprayed their crops bare-footed, only 2.0 per cent wore gloves, just 3.0 per cent wore protective eye-glasses, and only 6.0 per cent had simple cotton masks to protect against inhalation.

However, through the efforts of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and the Bangladesh Agri-culture Research Council (BARC), the country's crop production per unit of land has considerably increased year by year. This has helped to negate the effect of the continuing decline in availability of arable land all over the country.

The loss of agricultural land to urbanisation means an increase in environmental problems such as air quality, transportation problems, loss of habitat and green space, and a degradation of water quality. The water quality problem is typically the result of non-point source pollution that has diverse sources.

As for Bangladesh, long-term outlook appears to be bleak as unplanned growth of population is complicating the process of meeting the demand for food, basic health requirements and educational facilities -- triggering unemployment and social unrest. The prospect is really discouraging as resources are outrunning habitants.

There will be no cultivable land left in Bangladesh in 50 years if lands are taken away for non-farm purposes at the current annual rate. If the trend is not reversed now, the country would permanently lose its food security, making its poor population more vulnerable to volatile international commodity prices.

In fact, the decline in arable land is very worrisome. The authorities concerned should go for regular surveys of arable land to present an accurate figure so that necessary steps can be taken to intensify family farming across the country.

Everybody does need to understand that the country's food security is very much dependent on the proper and diligent use of its limited arable land.

szkhan@dhaka.net