Until the sixties the whole of Bangladesh was under organic farming - be it in case of producing paddy or vegetables or fruits. Farmers did not know what the non-organic farming was about. They used local bio-manure, rainwater and ploughs pulled by bulls for tilling land. The farmers reared their goats and cows at their backyards and let them free in their fields for grazing. Nobody at that time heard of fish farming or poultry farms. Fishes were a natural gift, naturally bred in the paddy fields, low-lying areas, rivers and canals. People only caught them to eat. Poultry lived in the same houses where farmers lived. There was nothing like commercial production of poultry. Only the surplus chickens got to the market. The source of the milk was also the cows reared by the farmers.
So, almost nothing was supplied from outside. The farmers were self-sufficient; everything they needed - from rice to fish to chicken and the milk - was produced by them. But things got changed since the middle of the 1960's. At that time chemical fertilisers, especially the urea type, got to the market and farmers were told to use the fertiliser to increase paddy production.
With urea fertiliser came the pesticides to kill the insects. But the use of the chemical fertiliser and pesticides destroyed the ecological balance in the farming system. Fishes died or could not grow in the paddy fields. Local manure or bio-fertiliser suddenly became useless. The 1960's also saw the introduction of the high-yielding varieties, which were known as the HIVs in case of paddy cultivation.
Local varieties of paddy seeds which farmers used for centuries took a backseat and at one stage got lost. The HIVs needed chemical fertiliser and pesticide to survive and give more output. The wooden ploughs were replaced by tractors. Cultivation became dependent on the use of chemical fertiliser, pesticides and machines. All these were introduced in the farming in the name of producing more food and the change in the farming system was proudly dubbed 'Green Revolution'.
True, Bangladesh or other countries which used the components of Green Revolution could produce more food and feed their increasing population, but that came with high costs. All natural production systems were destroyed; agricultural production or farming became commercial. The change came, first, in paddy production and then a kind of Green Revolution also entered into the poultry production and fish production. For poultry and fish the feeds are produced in the factories. But the result of these changes is that although more poultry & fishes are now available in the market, consumers are being deprived of what they want. Consumers want naturally produced food, poultry & fish, which they do not get. The same is true about vegetables and fruits. Consumers are being asked to eat harmful genetically modified food items (GMO). The European consumers have been resisting the GMO food for long but in Bangladesh it seems the authorities are too eager to adopt GMOs.
Chemical-free fruits and vegetables have become almost impossible to get now. But the consumers want naturally produced food items including fruits, vegetables, poultry and fishes. The chemical & pesticide-free foods are called organic food. Demand for organic food is going up as the per capita income of a section of people has gone up. The higher middle class people in Bangladesh now find almost all amenities for good living except healthy organic foods.
It is reported in the media that organic food producers are unable to reach the local consumers and export their produce food because of absence of certification. The consumers see some food items labelled 'organic' in the retail outlets, but they hardly believe the label. Consumers are ready to pay high price for organic food, but suppliers must earn trust in this case. Standardisation, packaging and certification will help in this case.
The writer is Professor of Economics, University of Dhaka.
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