Char lands need to be made cultivable

Agronomists at a conference in the capital yesterday stressed the need for developing the country's char areas to introduce agriculture there and boost production.

"The country's char areas is expanding every year and will continue to do so as silts are being deposited on riverbeds," Prof Abdul Karim, president of the Bangladesh Society of Agronomy (BSA), told the conference.

He said about 2.5 billion tonnes of sediment flow through three mighty rivers -- Padma, Brahmaputra and Meghna -- each year and deposit on the riverbeds. As a result, many new shoals are emerging in the country.

Prof Karim said if the Himalayan glacier exists, the country's char areas will increase as silt will continue to come from the Himalayas.

BSA organised its 14th conference focusing on "Agronomic Challenges for Climate Smart Agriculture" in the auditorium of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in the capital.

Science and Technology Minister  Yeafesh Osman, BARC executive chairman Dr Abul Kalam Azad, director general of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) Dr Rafiqul Islam Mondal and BSA general secretary Prof AKM Ruhul Amin, among others, spoke at the conference.

In his power-point presentation, the BSA president said flood in the country is not a disaster at all, but it should be considered as a blessing since it helps revive the soil fertility, increase char areas and boost crop production.

He said agronomists should come forward with their innovative plans to develop char lands to introduce crop farming there.

The agronomist warned that the country's agricultural sector will face various challenges in the future due to climate change. "Erratic rainfall and severe cold in a short period of winter may hit the agriculture sector hard in the days to come," he added.

Speaking as the chief guest, Yeafesh Osman said if new technology cannot be reached to the doorsteps of general people, it will be quite impossible to digitalise the country in real sense.

Despite gradual decline in arable land, Dr Rafiqul Islam Mondal said, the crop production has increased three folds in the country since its independence due to innovation of new varieties of crop and introduction of technologies in the agriculture sector.

But, he said, the agriculturists will have to develop more innovative technologies and climate-tolerant varieties of crop to adapt to the country's agriculture amid climate change impacts.