Use organic manure to cut dependency on chemical fertilisers
Agriculture Adviser Dr CS Karim yesterday advised the farmers to use highly-subsidised chemical fertilisers carefully and reduce dependency on them by increasing the use of organic manures.
"It will not do good if you just concentrate on Urea and TSP. Fifteen lakh tonnes of urea is produced in the country while another 13 lakh tonnes are imported. The government subsidises Tk 1200 for each sack of urea," he said.
The adviser was speaking as chief guest at a workshop organised jointly by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations at LGED auditorium in the capital. It was organised under a project titled 'Special Programme for Food Security (SPFS)'.
He said it is true that the government sometimes cannot provide adequate fertiliser for the farmers despite having its good will, but at the same time the farmers should know the amount of fertiliser that they need to use in a piece of land.
"This time we could not supply TSP for potato cultivation, but its production was not affected. Similarly in an experiment in Jessore, it was found that some used insecticides in brinjal fields everyday and others never did. Interestingly, this did not make any difference in production," Dr Karim said.
"Sharing successful technology and knowledge that the farmers have acquired through SPFS can help in a great way. The government will surely try to solve macro-level problems and give all the supports that the farmers need," he added.
The adviser said shifts of food surplus countries from export to bio-fuel production, and increased food demand are threatening food security in the country.
Under SPFS, a project initiated by DAE and FAO in 21 upazilas of the country in 2002, the farmers formed groups where they were given trainings on modern farming that increased yield by 20 percent and cropping intensity from 192 percent to 203 percent, met the needs of 60 percent quality seeds and improve soil health by using organic manure.
The project also helped in developing agro-forestry, water management, livestock and poultry, aquaculture and fisheries, agro-processing and income generating activities, said Dr Shin Imai, former regional coordinator of SPFS, which is operational in 105 countries.
In Bangladesh, the project has been concluded, but the technologies transferred to the farmers will continue through them to other farmers, he said, adding that this will help farmers increase their income, upgrade living standard and finally reduce the threats of food insecurity.
Around 852 million people around the world are at present food insecure, he noted.
FAO Representative AD Spijkers said Bangladesh has enormous challenges to food security, terming replication of SPFS in the country as a tool to face the challenge.
Agriculture Secretary M Abdul Aziz ndc, who chaired the workshop, said SPFS could be a tool elsewhere in the country for a significant production rise and sustainable development in agriculture.
DAE Director General Shamsul Alam, SPFS National Project Director AK Rashid Uddin Ahmed, former SPFS project expert Dr Takeshi Ueda, Japanese Ambassador Masayuki Inoue, DAE Director Dr Shahidul Islam, and beneficiaries of the project Tayebur Rahman of Jessore and Farida Parveen of Faridpur also spoke on the occasion.
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