In 2016, a fungal disease known as wheat blast, which had until then been confined to parts of South America, struck the wheat fields of Bangladesh, causing catastrophic damage to the precious crop.
That year, in terms of lost yield, Bangladesh lost an estimated Tk1,800 crore, and over 1 lakh hectares of land suffered damage.
Wheat is the second-most important crop in South Asia, and as the loss numbers show, there is no way to overstate the urgency of coming up with a way to fight this deadly disease, which strikes directly at the ears of wheat and can shrivel and deform the grain in less than seven days, leaving hapless farmers with no time to act.
But there seems to be hope on the horizon -- Bangladeshi scientists have joined hands with UK scientists to develop blast-resistant what through genome editing; speaking recently to this newspaper, they have said that they have already ascertained the way to effectively drive away the fungus responsible for wheat blast.
Not only is this a scientific and technological achievement Bangladesh can be proud of, this breakthrough should also be seen as a major step towards ensuring food security for the country.
The policy of cutting down on wheat is not sustainable in the long run, so it is good to see our scientists focusing on solving the actual problem through laboratory work rather than asking us to tighten our belts.
Right now, Bangladesh imports five times more wheat than it grows domestically to meet its demand, but with the scientific advances we are making, soon we may not have to rely so hard on imports.
