Non-farm economy in rural areas to help cut poverty
Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud (C), a former finance adviser to the caretaker government, speaks at a workshop in Dhaka yesterday. Dr Durga P Paudyal (R), director general of Cirdap, and Dr Nasreen Khundker, director (Research) of Cirdap, are also seen. Photo: STAR
Marginal farmers will not be able to come out of poverty cycle unless non-farm economic opportunities expand to the country's rural areas, economists said at a workshop yesterday.
“Land reform is necessary. But unless we increase non-farm economic opportunities, land reform will not alone help alleviate poverty,” said Prof Wahiduddin Mahmud, a former finance adviser to the caretaker government.
Wahiduddin was speaking at the workshop on 'Access to Land and other Natural Resources by the Rural Poor: The Case of Bangladesh', organised by the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (Cirdap), at its office in Dhaka.
Discussants stressed the need for enacting different land laws to help the landless get access to land and natural resources. They also put emphasis on better management of khas lands and common resources.
LGRD and Cooperatives Secretary ATM Fazlul Karim, Dhaka University teacher of Economics Department Dr Selim Raihan and Cirdap Director (Research) Dr Nasreen Khundker, among others, spoke at the workshop chaired by Cirdap Director General Dr Durga P Paudyal.
The number of marginal farmers is rising due to decrease in farmland, Prof Wahiduddin said, adding that now around 90 percent of the farmers are marginal, whereas in 1960s 40 percent farmers were marginal.
Referring to grabbing of lands and natural resources by political clouts, he said the rights of marginal and landless people remain on the paper only.
“But if we want to establish their rights, a strong local government is very much necessary,” he said.
Wahiduddin urged the government to enforce laws for recovering the grabbed lands and distributing those to the landless and marginal people.
Citing an example of land grabbers' move of building resorts by the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway, he said, “These lands were leased out to set up factories or filling stations. But resorts were built there.”
Poor people will never have access to land without good governance, he added.
Dr Selim Raihan, associate professor of economics at the University of Dhaka, said, "Land reform is not just about the redistribution of the ownership of land, but also about establishing the rights of the tenants."
Land reform is still an important issue in Bangladesh. Establishing the rights of landless agricultural labourers is very important, he said, adding that poor farmers have to be provided with proper support so they attain food security and become free from poverty.
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