The life, culture and agriculture of the people of Bangladesh are intertwined. Agriculture has been one of the mainstays of the people of this country since ancient times. Over time, that ancient agriculture has taken on a touch of modernity. The use of modern agronomy and technology is bringing great success in agricultural production. But in this agricultural country, there was a time of scarcity. Besides, the famine that took place during the Second World War engulfed the whole of Bangladesh. Fearing capture by Japanese forces, the British government either moved food grains to the West or destroyed food warehouses in Bengal and Assam. Millions of people died in East Bengal alone due to the famine.
Despite being weakened in the Great War, the British government took a landmark decision at that time. For Assam and Bengal, an agricultural institute was set up at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka, a veterinary college in Comilla and an agriculture faculty at Dhaka University. Besides, a specialized department called Agriculture Department was introduced. Although this did not immediately improve the famine, the journey of modernization of agriculture in Bangladesh began. An Agricultural University was established in 1971 during the Pakistan period. Under their guidance, some Agricultural Extension Training Institutes and Veterinary Training Institutes (AETI & VTI) were set up to create skilled field workers to work at the grassroots level. In almost every district government agricultural farms, poultry farms and somewhere dairy farms are introduced as demonstration farms. A single research institute has been set up at Dhaka, Ishwardi and Srimangal for research on cash crops like jute, sugarcane, tea etc.
Culture and agriculture are the threads of the Bengali people
Agricultural Research and Rice Research Institute was established at Gazipur. . As a result of all these arrangements, the modernization of agriculture in East Bengal began in the sixties of the last century. Its impact is most evident in the case of paddy, the main agricultural crop. Cultivation of high yielding Eri-Brie rice was started instead of low yielding local rice of different flavors. The demand for modern machinery for fertilizer, irrigation and other care for these is increasing in agriculture. As a result, production costs continue to rise. Poor farmers either become farm laborers or leave their land and migrate to the city in search of new occupations. At this time improved breeds of chickens, ducks and cattle farms provided employment to some people.
Modern poultry farms are growing day by day around the cities of the country for the convenience of transportation and marketing. In agriculture, higher yields of various crops, animal products such as eggs, milk, meat, etc. increase the income of the farmer and spread education in rural life. Soil or land is the main field of agriculture. There is no end to the research of scientists on this soil. Scientists have discovered many important facts about soil structure, types, fertility, soil-dwelling organisms and their benefits. Farmers have adopted the technologies developed by these scientists in the fields of nutrition, growth, reproduction, healing, etc. of crop plants, livestock, fish and other aquatic animals. As a result, agriculture continues to make progress in producing healthy and balanced food.
This advancement in agricultural production has changed the lives of rural people
The productivity of high yielding paddy, wheat, maize, barley has increased many times over. At present there are four full-fledged agricultural universities and one full-fledged veterinary university in Bangladesh. In almost all the universities of science and technology, besides teaching agricultural science, the teachers do research. Agricultural extension officers and field workers informed the farmers about the improved varieties and production technology obtained in their research. As a result, rapid progress is being made in the agricultural production of the country. There is a type of rice called ‘Hybrid Rice’. If cultivated in accordance with the rules and regulations, this paddy yields more than the conventional high yielding paddy.
Scientists have brought in a variety of flowers, fruits, vegetables, poultry, cows, fish and trees from abroad and added them to the country’s agriculture. It has changed the way of life, the use of machinery in agriculture is increasing, the diversity of production is increasing, so is the competition, the use of capital is increasing, the production of fish, poultry and eggs has almost reached the industrial stage, the demand for education and skills is increasing rapidly in rural life.
The journey of agricultural progress in independent Bangladesh
At present there are specialized laboratories for all agricultural crops. Agricultural fairs are being held in urban and rural areas every year. In order to make agriculture more environmentally friendly, various activities have been introduced to encourage and make farmers efficient in good agricultural activities including Integrated Pest Management (IPM). To reduce dependence on synthetic chemical fertilizers, technology related to making and application of green manure and compost manure in the field, application of earthworm manure or vermicompost is being made available to the farmers. Huge progress has now been made in improved cow feed production, grass processing and poultry and fish feed production to meet the food shortage of cattle.
Poultry has become an agricultural industry in the country and a large portion of the fish in the market is now coming from farmed fish. Farmers are being attracted towards agro-forestry and social forestry as the government encourages tree planting every year. Postgraduate and PhD degree education has been expanded in agricultural universities. Advances in biotechnology have opened the door to new possibilities in agriculture in Bangladesh. The discovery of a genetic map of jute by a Bangladeshi scientist is a significant event, which marks the beginning of the modern era of agriculture in Bangladesh.
