Thrust on boosting food production to reduce hunger
Sunday, 17 October 2010
FE Report
Experts at a discussion meeting underlined the need for boosting the country's food production for the sake of helping reduce hunger.
For doing so, they also called for optimum utilisation of arable land for cultivation of crops, especially food crops, in a discussion of UBINIG held in the city Saturday on the occasion of "World Food Day 2010".
The number of people hungry and suffering from malnutrition has been increasing due to food crisis, Farida Akhter, executive director of Unnayan Bikolper Nitinirdharoni Gobeshona (UBINIG), said.
She was presenting her keynote paper wherein she said 'the number of people hungry on suffering from malnutrition now stood at 950 million, which was 800 million in 1996 in the world. Women are the main victims worldwide, she added.'
On an average 1.0 per cent cultivable land has been declining every year and about 74,000 hectares of land are being used for non- agricultural purposes threatening food safety, Mosharraf Uddin Molla, senior scientific officer of Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, said.
Speakers suggested use of local seeds and farmers' known method of cultivation to remove obstacles to food production.
They also demanded stopping of use of insecticides.
Zaker Hossain, professor of Zoology Department of Dhaka University was and MA Sobhan, consultant of UBINIG, among others, were present in the discussion.
Experts at a discussion meeting underlined the need for boosting the country's food production for the sake of helping reduce hunger.
For doing so, they also called for optimum utilisation of arable land for cultivation of crops, especially food crops, in a discussion of UBINIG held in the city Saturday on the occasion of "World Food Day 2010".
The number of people hungry and suffering from malnutrition has been increasing due to food crisis, Farida Akhter, executive director of Unnayan Bikolper Nitinirdharoni Gobeshona (UBINIG), said.
She was presenting her keynote paper wherein she said 'the number of people hungry on suffering from malnutrition now stood at 950 million, which was 800 million in 1996 in the world. Women are the main victims worldwide, she added.'
On an average 1.0 per cent cultivable land has been declining every year and about 74,000 hectares of land are being used for non- agricultural purposes threatening food safety, Mosharraf Uddin Molla, senior scientific officer of Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, said.
Speakers suggested use of local seeds and farmers' known method of cultivation to remove obstacles to food production.
They also demanded stopping of use of insecticides.
Zaker Hossain, professor of Zoology Department of Dhaka University was and MA Sobhan, consultant of UBINIG, among others, were present in the discussion.