Increasing desertification as well as conversion of arable land to other purposes are threatening food security in the near future.
Bangladesh is losing agricultural land at a rate of nearly 1% per year, according to data from Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and also backed by independent data.
But Salim Rashid, an economics professor at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, argues that the danger is far greater for Bangladesh, with at least 30% of its agricultural land under risk of being gone over the next 25 years.
Quoting data from the Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) data, Prof Rashid said the loss of land in Bangladesh has gone through a five-fold increase since 2000.
Over the course of 24 years before 2000, Bangladesh was losing arable land at an annual rate of 13,413 hectares; but since 2000, the rate has jumped to 68,690 hectares per year, according to SRDI.
Khandker Moyeen Uddin, director of SRDI, said: “Every year, 0.73% agricultural land is turned into non-agricultural land. Every year, around 12km land comes under salinity. The situation is getting worse everyday.
“The more dreadful point is that the fertility of land is degraded every year. One will see that every year new type of fertilisers are being used in our lands. If such situation continues, then the future food security of Bangladesh will threatened,” Moyeen warned.
The comments come as the world is set to observe the World Day to Combat Desertification today with the slogan “Protect Earth. Restore land. Engage people.”
To mark the day, United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a statement said: “Desertification, land degradation, drought and climate change are interconnected. As a result of land degradation and climate change, the severity and frequency of droughts have been increasing, along with floods and extreme temperatures.
“More than 50% of agricultural land is moderately or severely degraded, with 12 million hectares lost to production each year.”
Ban said nearly 800 million people are chronically undernourished as a direct consequence of land degradation, declining soil fertility, unsustainable water use, drought and biodiversity loss.
He also warned that over the next 25 years, land degradation could reduce global food productivity by as much as 12%, leading to a 30% increase in world food prices.
“On this day, I urge cooperation among all actors to help achieve land degradation neutrality as part of a broader effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and build a future of dignity and opportunity for all,” the UN chief added.
On the occasion, Monique Barbut, executive secretary of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), said 193 countries pledged last year to strive to become land degradation neutral by 2030.
“Ninety countries have already signed up to the challenge and are setting their national targets. This is admirable. But it is not enough when at least 169 countries are affected by land degradation or drought, and all countries are indirectly impacted by them.”
She also said: “Actions to avoid, halt and reverse land degradation must begin now with everyone fully engaged. The prospect of a land degradation neutral world grows dimmer if we procrastinate. But it shines brighter each time a person or country joins the campaign to restore degraded land or the battle against the degradation of new land.
“Land degradation neutrality should be a top policy goal for every nation that values freedom and choice,” Barbut added.
Saturday, March 22, 2025
