Speakers at a seminar yesterday emphasized small farming, family farming, co-operative farming, acknowledgement of women farmers, and protecting farming land to ensure food and land security of the country.
The seminar titled ‘To protect people’s right on food, water and land” was organised by Pani Odhikar Forum (Water Rights Forum) and Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD), in association with International Land Coalition (ILC) to mark World Food Day 2014, at the auditorium of Kochi-Kacha central building in the capital.
Rowshan Jahan Moni, deputy executive director of ILC in her opening speech said: “2014 has been declared as the year of family farming. We must make proper use of the unused land for the purpose of agriculture. We have to work for saving the small farmers and the whole agricultural system.”
The report presented by AKM Masud Ali, executive director of Incidin Bangladesh, focused on food security, right and sovereignty. “Farming is losing its contribution to GDP. Women farmers’ contribution is overlooked. They also need to be recognised as farmers. Land and water sources play vital role in farming, which is at the gun point of commercialisation.”
Also present in the event, Bela Chief Executive Syeda Rizwana Hasan, criticised government’s efforts to make buildings and industries on agricultural land.
Shamsul Huda, executive director of ALRD, emphasised recovering the occupied land from grabbers and use those land only for agriculture purpose.