Small size farming has been playing a vital role in boosting agricultural production and reducing hunger and poverty, professionals have said.
They said the productivity of the small farmers was better than the medium and large scale because proper care can be taken.
Dr Quazi Shahabuddin, former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said the small size farms constitute 88% of the total number of farms in Bangladesh. Currently, Bangladesh produces around 37.26 million tonnes of food grains including rice and wheat which is nearly equal to the demand.
Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics says a small farm in Bangladesh is up to 1.01 hectares big, medium size 3.03 hectares and large ones are over 3.03 hectares.
Quazi Shabuddin said because of frequent natural calamities during Aman season, many large scale farmers have shifted to Boro because it depended on ground water-based irrigation.
The Ministry of Agriculture says more than 15 million households in Bangladesh are currently involved in farming on 8.52 million hectares land.
UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation says Bangladesh have been facing reduced farm size since 1960.
The UN fixed “Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth” for World Food Day today as a recognition for the small farmers.
