Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security of Bangladesh – Issues and Recommendations

Summary

Bangladesh agriculture heavily depends on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Application of these compounds over a long period resulted into poor soil fertility, human and animal health hazards, disturbed eco-balance, all leading to low productivity, soil, water and air pollution. Moreover, the cost of agriculture has increased manifold with declining yield levels and growing dependence on market for purchase of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Hence the most urgent concern is to make judicious use of chemical inputs and application of bio-products so as to ensure minimal damage to the environment without any reduction in yield of crops.
Food security is also challenging considering the climate change, land degradation and natural disasters. Until recently, sustainable agricultural technologies are not highlighted as important both by the research institutions and by the policy makers. The country continues to be characterized by a large agrarian base, with more than three quarters of the population living in rural areas and roughly 80 percent of this population are living directly off the land or from agriculture related activities. Small farmers in Bangladesh are struggling to compete in today‘s liberalized and globalised market place. This chapter will comment on importance of sustainable agricultural technologies for food security, environment and livelihood improvement in Bangladesh.