Experts have lauded the success already achieved by Bangladesh in adapting to adverse impacts of climate change in the agriculture sector to keep cereal crop production increasing for ensuring national food security.
“The success achieved by farmers in cultivating flood-, drought- and saline- tolerant rice so far in Bangladesh by adapting to climate change impacts is highly appreciable,” said former Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute Dr MA Mazid.
Side by side with enhancing cultivation of stress tolerant rice varieties, the farmers had also been expanding farming of drought- and disease- tolerant other cereal crops like wheat to increase food production in the country, he said.
“Adaptation to changing climate along with innovation of newer technologies and more stress tolerant crop varieties had become imperative to keep agro-productions increasing all the time for ensuring future food security,” Dr Mazid viewed.
According to knowledge management and communication specialist of the climate resilient agriculture and food security project of World Bank Dr MG Neogi, cultivation of stress-tolerant cereal crops had already become popular among farmers in the country.
“The farmers have been successfully adapting to the changed periods of crop farming and harvesting amid changing climate through cultivating newly innovated stress tolerant and early crop varieties to increase food production,” Neogi said.
Agriculture and Environment Coordinator of RDRS Bangladesh Mamunur Rashid said the farmers were laudably adapting to the adverse situations in keeping food production increasing as the changing climate might severely reduce agro-production.
Extension Agronomist Anarul Haque at Dinajpur Hub of International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center said the farmers started using high yielding and stress-tolerant crop seeds and conservation agriculture (CA)-based technologies to cope with the situation.
He said wheat production was being affected in the past due to adverse impacts of high temperature on its farming from flowering to ripening stages for late sowing of seed after harvesting late variety Aman, use of low quality local seeds and other reasons.
“However, the farmers are now getting bumper wheat production following expanded cultivation of the high yielding, disease-, stress- and high temperature- tolerant wheat varieties adopting the latest CA- based technologies,” Haque added.
Horticulture Specialist of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam said the changing climate had already affected the periods of appearance of different crop farming seasons causing concern to the agriculture sector.
“But,increasing cultivation of stress tolerant crops by the farmers adopting newer technologies has been keeping agro-production increasing despite chancing climate to maintain national food security,” Islam added.
Lauding the success already achieved by farmers in adapting to changing climate, Regional Additional Director of DAE Shah Alam stressed on innovating and using more effective technologies to keep cereal crop production increasing for food security, reports BSS, Rangpur.
