Expert for sustainable agriculture to ensure food security +

The government should immediately put emphasis on sustainable agriculture considering the effects of light, soil nutrients and different dimensions of soil utilisation to ensure the country's food security, according to an expert. "We should explore long-term sustainable technology to ensure food security, livelihood and self-reliance," said Director of the Centre for Global Environmental Culture (CGEC) and Programme on Education for Sustainability, IUBAT-International University of Business, Agriculture and Technology Prof Dr Mohammed Ataur Rahman. It is essential to immediately change the country's direction and pattern of agriculture as the country can have many alternatives - sweet potatoes, maize, taro, tubers, corms, jackfruits - for its staple food (starch), he told UNB over phone Saturday. "We have many alternatives for our staple food (starch), and need to immediately change our direction and patterns of agriculture," he said. In his recent write-up titled 'Sustainable Production, Consumption and Market Price Control', Dr Ataur Rahman said Bangladesh and other least developed countries (LDCs) are suffering from imposed burden with unsustainable technologies like use of ground water for irrigation, chemical fertiliser and pesticide-based farming. The results are pollution, soil degradation, loss of biodiversity and endless problems with product management, storage, transportation and price control, he said. "Syndicated traders control the price, and as a result prices of vegetables, tomatoes, potatoes, jute, hide and skin and fruits like pineapple decline in the market during the peak growing period and both the producers and farmers suffer a lot." He said the technology-dependent, capitalism-dominated world economy needs immediate attention for a balanced sustainable production, consumption and price control. Otherwise, the world economy will collapse and will drive towards conflict and war. Imbalanced system has been increasing poverty and widening the gap between rich and poor wildly, Dr Rahman said. For rice, maximum soil utilisation is about 9 inches but for many trees, climber and creeper-crops may have 2ft to 20ft or more root zone and utilise the soil nutrients; as a result, their productivity is many times higher than that of shallow rooted field crops. Dr Rahman, also coordinator, WWOOF Bangladesh, said the agricultural scientists should understand the reality of the science in light of the effects of light, soil nutrients and different dimensions of soil utilisation.