The per capita income has gone up after independence, specially after 1991, but the rural productivity has come down sharply, causing greater unemployment in rural areas in the last decade, they said adding that unsustainable policies are responsible for this situation.

"We need to seriously consider the ways of increasing rural productivity for millions of agriculture workers to reduce the number of people suffering from food deprivation," Prof Mosharraf Hossain, a development expert and a former member of the Planning Commission, said in his keynote speech.

JICA Alumni Association, Bangladesh (JAAB) organised the seminar titled 'Agriculture and Eradication of Food Deprivation in Rural Bangladesh' at Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC).

Prof Hossain said the steady increase of per capita income in last three decades should have huge positive impact on food security, but things went wrong as rural productivity was ignored and the development programme were aimed at only non-agricultural sector.

Criticising the present trend of GDP-focused development agenda, he said the agriculture should be given the highest priority because of the huge population, their food habit and land limitations in the country, where more than 70 percent people live in rural areas.

Prof Hossain said the country can eradicate food deprivation through short and long-term schemes such as greater subsidy to agriculture, peasants' incentives to encourage innovative agriculture and huge media advocacy to motivate people and policymakers to think anew.

Vice-Chancellor of Dhaka University Prof SMA Faiz was present as the chief guest while Japanese Ambassador Matsushiro Horiguchi and Resident Representative of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Akio Arai attended the seminar as special guests.

Vice-President of JICA Alumni Association Mohammad Azmal Chowdhury chaired the function, which was also addressed by Alumni General Secretary Mohammad Ejar Uddin, Professor Anwar Hossain and Professor Ashraf Uddin Chowdhury of Dhaka University, and Alumni Seminar Secretary Dr M Mofazzal Hossain.

Ambassador Horiguchi said Bangladesh needs to create a linkage between agriculture and rural development in the true sense to ensure food security and sustainable development.

The people of this country, he said, are innovative and energetic and they can change their fate if they are led to the right direction.

Akio Arai suggested improving agri-productivity and introducing measures to promote diversified economic activities outside the agriculture sector.