Agriculture continues to be one of the cornerstones of Bangladesh. Yes, we have made tremendous strides in terms of industry and our cities are seeing ever taller skyscrapers and buildings as testaments to our economic upturn, but at the core of it all, we are still very much an agrarian society.
Which is why it is all the more shameful that governments both past and present have all but neglected agriculture as a viable realm of progress despite numerous promises to that end. The most prominent being the introduction of integrated farming.
The government had an ambitious project in the pipeline that would introduce integrated farming through the use of modern technology, but we have seen very little in the way of implementation thus far. Exactly what's keeping this from becoming a reality?
We have heard in the past that trepidation on the part of farmers had proven to be a hindrance, if that is indeed an issue, then the reason is most assuredly a lack of clear communications between those in charge of the project and farmers as the initiative would ultimately benefit farmers themselves.
We cannot afford to sleep on this initiative.
While Bangladesh far from the days of hunger and famine, food security is still a lingering issue that we continue to grapple with, a problem that integrated farming can lessen to a great degree through increased yield of crops and the minimal use of chemicals.
A lack of modern technology and trained human capital has held our agricultural sector back from reaching its potential, which is why it is imperative that the sector undergoes sweeping innovation.
Integrated farming is the future of our agriculture.
