Continued loss of soil fertility is posing serious threat to the country's food security attainment, opined scientists.
The declining trend of soil quality at the present high rate could turn cultivable land infertile long before, they feared.
They gave the opinions at a seminar organised by the Soil Resource and Development Institute (SRDI) at the Gias Uddin Milky Auditorium in the city on Wednesday, ahead of the World Soil Day 2018.
A rally was also held on the occasion.
Agriculturalists across the world observed the day with the slogan 'Be the Solution to Soil Pollution'.
Acting Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) Md Nasiruddin while speaking as the chief guest said it is a very much worrying fact for the future generation that organic matter in soil is declining remarkably.
The loss of organic contents means the loss of soil life which could cause massive decline in food production, he added.
He attributed the cause of such decline in soil fertility to unplanned urbanisation, industrialisation and even agriculture.
"If we can't prevent the decline in soil fertility it can harm our food security in future," he said.
Dr SM Imamul Hauqe, vice-chancellor of Barisal University, and also a soil scientist, presented a paper on present soil condition in Bangladesh where he revealed the fact that the organic contents in about 60 per cent of the country's arable land have fallen below two per cent which should be five per cent in an ideal condition.
The internationally accepted standard is 3.4 per cent organic content which makes soil fertile.
He said as organic contents provide nutrients to plants during their growth it is considered the heart of the soil.
In an ideal condition, soil composes five per cent of organic matters, 45 per cent of minerals, 25 per cent of water and 25 per cent of air.
He said Bangladesh, once known for its soil fertility, is fast heading towards the opposite direction due to land's over-exploitation coupled with over-application of chemical fertilisers, removal of top soil for the creation of new urban centres and excessive withdrawal of ground-water.
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