Preserving agricultural lands a national imperative

There should not be the faintest doubt and hesitations as regards the necessity of taking appropriate measures to save agricultural fields in a land-scarce, densely populated country like Bangladesh. Bangladesh with an area of 147,570 sq. km. (square kilometres), has about 20.16 million acres of cultivated area for 160 million people.
An estimate shows that the gradual decline in arable land in Bangladesh is by one per cent per annum, because of its increased use for commercial purposes and the establishment of different kinds of mills and factories, together with residential areas. This percentage of agricultural land decline is supposed to rise alongside the increasing pace of non-agricultural economic progress of the country. If this trend continues and not minimised or checked, food and other necessary agricultural commodity prices will go beyond control as increasing domestic agricultural commodity production will be impossible with limited land use.
Considering all these, the government has undertaken a master plan to build multi-storeyed residential buildings on cooperative basis for the accommodation of rural and urban people to save agricultural land. The officials concerned have claimed that through this scheme the wastage of agricultural land will be minimised, and side by side, the maximum utilisation of biological resources of the country will be ensured. The officials have already discussed the matter at ECNEC meetings.
But it is true that the reasons behind the misuse and wastage of agricultural lands scarcely catch the attention of the quarters concerned. The productivity of agricultural lands is decreasing because of the repeated, excessive use of chemical fertilisers. Industrial wastes are being thrown in unplanned and reckless manner into the agricultural land and adjacent rivers. Building of unplanned residential accommodations, roads and highways, bridges and culverts, industrial establishments, brick-fields etc are on the increase, causing serious damage to the agricultural lands and squeezing their size. Moreover, the reckless frenzy that is going on in the private sector to establish housing estates for residential purposes throughout the country by occupying agricultural land has raised the apprehension that the possibility of the availability of these special lands will become a chimera in the near future. But no one is certainly ready to admit the grim fact that the agriculture-dominating and agriculture-dependent Bangla-desh will one day become a stifling site of a concrete jungle.
In a country inhabited by 160 million people, or 32 million households, the peasant community comprises 8.73 million households (rural area only) or 34.44 per cent of agricultural labour-households, out of 58.66 per cent total farm households. About 80 per cent of the people of the country still depend directly or indirectly on agriculture. Although there are no special social facilities in the country for the peasant community, the farmers are achieving unparalleled successes every year in agricultural productions -- only because there are still sufficient fertile agricultural lands for use. With the increase in population, the pressure on agricultural land for accommodation purposes is on the increase. As a result, we are seeing increased pressure on our limited resources and agricultural land area of the country. It is impossible to improve all-round well-being of these huge numbers of people without a planned economic development.
It goes without saying that not only agricultural, but also industrial development is necessary in the country for improving the lot of the people. But to improve both of these sectors, what is required is harmonious development of the sectors with courage, sincerity of purpose, patriotism and well-planned and concerted efforts. But if the political leadership and the government officials fail to implement this plan with honesty and devotion, then its results will be dismal for the country in the near future.                    
The plan to deal with the dwelling house-related problems of the rural population by constructing multi-storeyed buildings and taking other measures to preserve agricultural lands will be practical and laudable. If it becomes possible to establish a harmonious balance between agricultural and industrial developments in the country, then economic progress will be accelerated on the one hand, and domestic food productions, together with widespread agricultural productions, will increase, on the other, enabling the country to earn huge amounts of foreign exchange through their exports.
The development of agro-based industry in the country may help contribute to preserving agricultural lands. The countries, where agricultural land is meager, have given emphasis on industrialisation in order to meet the overall demands of their people. But in a country like ours, where the Creator has blessed us with abundant fertile agricultural lands, we also need to be industrialised and go for export vis-à-vis agriculture. Only then will it be possible for us to properly and effectively protect our agricultural lands and ensure their appropriate use, thus benefit the country in the practical sense of the term.                       
We have to remember that agriculture is still the lifeline of Bangladesh economy with its tremendously hard working peasant society. Their demand for existence is the bare minimum, but their contributions to the economy are great. To be honest, the urban population will be in a real difficult situation if the agricultural community stops supplying its products to the cities. From this point of view, the urban segment of the population is totally dependent on the rural agricultural sector. And this is the reality that will last for many days to come.
Bangladesh as a whole cannot go without agriculture. So the imperative to preserve agricultural land is unquestionable. Therefore, the Bangladesh national policy makers have to throw urgent and effective focus on the matter before time
runs out.
The writer is a retired professor of Economics, BCS General Education cadre.
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