Agriculture in a fresh light
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
Syed Fattahul Alim
After the recent floods and cyclone, the issue of age-old agriculture has again taken the centre stage. And it is also not the recent calamities that have made us realise the fact that agriculture is so important in our lives. For Bangladesh is a land known for its extreme varieties of natural misfortunes. And the people here know how to fight back such hard luck and come out victorious like the mythical phoenix. The ability to survive the odds has been the esprit de corps of the indigenous population, especially the farming community. The secret of this capability is that the farms they work on have been very fertile. What is more, the recurring visitations by calamities, far from destroying the productive power of the fields have often increased their fecundity manifold. The floods, for example, top up the soils of the fields with the alluviums they carry along with the waters coming from the upstream regions. The storms, the floods, the droughts, the downpours-all have their respective roles to play to restock the fields with fresh life and vigour.
That is why the farmers are still able to feed the population which has about doubled since independence and trebled since the time of partition of the subcontinent. Strangely enough, despite this population growth, the peasantry has not failed in its task to meet the food needs of a population that has multiplied in numbers. But the amount of arable land has not increased in the meanwhile. On the contrary, despite the conversion of some forested, marshy and demesne lands into arable ones, the per capita land has rather shrunken in size to accommodate the increased population. But then has the farmers developed their method of cultivation so that they are able to feed the added millions? Sad to say, they are still tilling their lands with the primitive implements their remote ancestors had used in the antiquity. Modern farming technology is still beyond their wildest dream. Whatever inputs such as fertilsers, irrigation facilities, pesticides, HYV seeds and so on they have any access to, too, are a mere trickle compared to the real need. Hence, to say that our agriculture or the peasantry that lives on it is deprived of modern implements or inputs is to tell the half truth. The still starker truth is that the peasantry is struck down with an extreme form of poverty. They work on their fields half-fed and unfed all the year round. They are hardly left with any working capital during the cropping seasons to buy fertilisers, seeds, or to pay the cost of irrigating their fields with the help of shallow or deep tube wells. So how do they get some of these inputs, though they have no money, especially during the tilling and sowing seasons? Well, it is again the old story retold. They go to the local moneylenders like their forefathers would do. So the cycle of deprivation and non-growth goes on and on without end.
Regardless of all these odds the local farming community is faced with, the farmers of the country have been performing their job commendably, though thanklessly. But everything has its limit. So, how far may one stretch the capacities of the peasantry has also its limit. So has the land on which they till, the primitive implements they use and the trickle of other inputs they apply to their lands. And when the times of test arrive, especially during calamities like the recent ones that the people have a glimpse into what lies beyond. It is exactly at such times that real truth about our vulnerability becomes glaringly evident. What is the truth? It is the spectre of net shortage of food-the widening gap between the geometrically increasing demand for food and its supply from the fields. The fields are gradually losing the uneven race against time. Just paying lip service to the farmers for their great role for society and the sacrifice it entails will not any more guarantee assured supply of food grains from the lands they till.
The November 15 cyclone and the floods that preceded it have again cracked the veneer of false plane of security on which we stand. The productivities of the land and of the farmers who plough it have reached their limit. The kind of agricultural practice on which the nation has been depending thus far has become obsolete. And this is more so for our unique case, where such a huge population has to survive on a given piece of land. The situation has been further complicated by the fact that with the present state of the economy, the government cannot also go on importing food to feed the population indefinitely.
Is there any possible way out of this apparently inescapable reality? There certainly is if one is not a cynic and has faith in man's potential for fighting the odds.
Firstly, those in charge will have to look at agriculture from a fresh point of view. The traditional practice of agriculture has to be replaced with a modern and scientific one. But scientific method, as many think, is not limited to fertilisers, pesticides and modern implements only. Genetic engineering has now opened up new possibilities on the horizon. In this context, it would be wise for our survival to shed the luxury of sticking to conservative outlook about the traditional crops that have been feeding us till now. There are quarters who are concerned about conserving the tradition and the old habit through resisting genetically modified crops. True, there are dangers lurking in this practice. But if we are to trust science, as we are already doing it by making a beeline for getting the latest inventions in the consumer technology and transforming our familiar environments with them without questioning its propriety, why should we then take a conservative stand when it comes to the issue of food grains and the way they are grown? And when it is a question of survival of such a huge population crammed into a small piece of land, it would be sheer insanity not to heed the call of science to rescue us from the present predicament.
So it is time that the government focussed more attention on basic research in agriculture, especially on the crops. The advanced nations have accumulated a wealth of knowledge through such researches. We need to have access to those and adopt the best practices available within the soonest possible time. There are, for instance, rice seeds that grow in hostile environment such as in soils attacked by salinity. Scientists have even developed a variety of rice crop that is able to outpace the rising water level in flood-prone zones and continue to grow as before and bear fruit. New seeds that can fight drought should also be tried. Seeds have been developed that grow fast and ensure greater number of yields in a year, while there are others that hardly need any land to grow. What is really holding us back from trying these new ways to enhance our food grain production further?
When it is a question of survival, one is left with fewer choices. The government and all concerned need to take the issue seriously. The farmers of our country are very pragmatic people. They have proved it time and again that they are able to make the best choice once options are given to them.
After the recent floods and cyclone, the issue of age-old agriculture has again taken the centre stage. And it is also not the recent calamities that have made us realise the fact that agriculture is so important in our lives. For Bangladesh is a land known for its extreme varieties of natural misfortunes. And the people here know how to fight back such hard luck and come out victorious like the mythical phoenix. The ability to survive the odds has been the esprit de corps of the indigenous population, especially the farming community. The secret of this capability is that the farms they work on have been very fertile. What is more, the recurring visitations by calamities, far from destroying the productive power of the fields have often increased their fecundity manifold. The floods, for example, top up the soils of the fields with the alluviums they carry along with the waters coming from the upstream regions. The storms, the floods, the droughts, the downpours-all have their respective roles to play to restock the fields with fresh life and vigour.
That is why the farmers are still able to feed the population which has about doubled since independence and trebled since the time of partition of the subcontinent. Strangely enough, despite this population growth, the peasantry has not failed in its task to meet the food needs of a population that has multiplied in numbers. But the amount of arable land has not increased in the meanwhile. On the contrary, despite the conversion of some forested, marshy and demesne lands into arable ones, the per capita land has rather shrunken in size to accommodate the increased population. But then has the farmers developed their method of cultivation so that they are able to feed the added millions? Sad to say, they are still tilling their lands with the primitive implements their remote ancestors had used in the antiquity. Modern farming technology is still beyond their wildest dream. Whatever inputs such as fertilsers, irrigation facilities, pesticides, HYV seeds and so on they have any access to, too, are a mere trickle compared to the real need. Hence, to say that our agriculture or the peasantry that lives on it is deprived of modern implements or inputs is to tell the half truth. The still starker truth is that the peasantry is struck down with an extreme form of poverty. They work on their fields half-fed and unfed all the year round. They are hardly left with any working capital during the cropping seasons to buy fertilisers, seeds, or to pay the cost of irrigating their fields with the help of shallow or deep tube wells. So how do they get some of these inputs, though they have no money, especially during the tilling and sowing seasons? Well, it is again the old story retold. They go to the local moneylenders like their forefathers would do. So the cycle of deprivation and non-growth goes on and on without end.
Regardless of all these odds the local farming community is faced with, the farmers of the country have been performing their job commendably, though thanklessly. But everything has its limit. So, how far may one stretch the capacities of the peasantry has also its limit. So has the land on which they till, the primitive implements they use and the trickle of other inputs they apply to their lands. And when the times of test arrive, especially during calamities like the recent ones that the people have a glimpse into what lies beyond. It is exactly at such times that real truth about our vulnerability becomes glaringly evident. What is the truth? It is the spectre of net shortage of food-the widening gap between the geometrically increasing demand for food and its supply from the fields. The fields are gradually losing the uneven race against time. Just paying lip service to the farmers for their great role for society and the sacrifice it entails will not any more guarantee assured supply of food grains from the lands they till.
The November 15 cyclone and the floods that preceded it have again cracked the veneer of false plane of security on which we stand. The productivities of the land and of the farmers who plough it have reached their limit. The kind of agricultural practice on which the nation has been depending thus far has become obsolete. And this is more so for our unique case, where such a huge population has to survive on a given piece of land. The situation has been further complicated by the fact that with the present state of the economy, the government cannot also go on importing food to feed the population indefinitely.
Is there any possible way out of this apparently inescapable reality? There certainly is if one is not a cynic and has faith in man's potential for fighting the odds.
Firstly, those in charge will have to look at agriculture from a fresh point of view. The traditional practice of agriculture has to be replaced with a modern and scientific one. But scientific method, as many think, is not limited to fertilisers, pesticides and modern implements only. Genetic engineering has now opened up new possibilities on the horizon. In this context, it would be wise for our survival to shed the luxury of sticking to conservative outlook about the traditional crops that have been feeding us till now. There are quarters who are concerned about conserving the tradition and the old habit through resisting genetically modified crops. True, there are dangers lurking in this practice. But if we are to trust science, as we are already doing it by making a beeline for getting the latest inventions in the consumer technology and transforming our familiar environments with them without questioning its propriety, why should we then take a conservative stand when it comes to the issue of food grains and the way they are grown? And when it is a question of survival of such a huge population crammed into a small piece of land, it would be sheer insanity not to heed the call of science to rescue us from the present predicament.
So it is time that the government focussed more attention on basic research in agriculture, especially on the crops. The advanced nations have accumulated a wealth of knowledge through such researches. We need to have access to those and adopt the best practices available within the soonest possible time. There are, for instance, rice seeds that grow in hostile environment such as in soils attacked by salinity. Scientists have even developed a variety of rice crop that is able to outpace the rising water level in flood-prone zones and continue to grow as before and bear fruit. New seeds that can fight drought should also be tried. Seeds have been developed that grow fast and ensure greater number of yields in a year, while there are others that hardly need any land to grow. What is really holding us back from trying these new ways to enhance our food grain production further?
When it is a question of survival, one is left with fewer choices. The government and all concerned need to take the issue seriously. The farmers of our country are very pragmatic people. They have proved it time and again that they are able to make the best choice once options are given to them.