Southern Bangladesh shows hope in agriculture
Agricultural productions have been increased in the southern part of Bangladesh. Rice productions, in particular, have been increased by two percent in the last four years.
At the same time, a significant increase has been recorded in corn, pulse, oilseed and potato cultivations. This clearly shows an indication that the southern part of the country, which was devastated by two cyclones in the past ten years, can again become a hub for the agriculture productions, according to a recent research conducted by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
In the past, winter rice, which is known as ”boro rice” in the country, was harvested once a year in the southern districts due of the salinity. The land used to remain uncultivated for the rest of the year. To fill the gap, shrimp farming was introduced in Khulna region. But farmers failed to earn enough by farming shrimps and producing rice only once a year.
Matia Chowdhury: #Bangladesh has made important progress toward achieving domestic food security & reducing poverty #IFPRI40
— ifpri (@ifpri) November 18, 2015
They moved to cultivate alternatives to increase profits. They started producing nutritious crops including corn, pulse, oilseed and potato as alternatives. The trend has spread across the country.
The daily ”Prothom-Alo” has published a detail report on the recent increase of the agriculture productions in the southern part. Click here to read more.
Photo: World Bank Photo Collection
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