Bangladesh is an agricultural country. About ninety percent of her population depends on agriculture. Bangladesh is not sufficiently developed in the industrial sector. So we have to depend mostly on agricultural products for our living. The major challenge for the country is to sustain the current level of agricultural production.
Bangladesh is not advanced in the system of agriculture. The methods of cultivation of the country are mostly old and outdated. Scientific methods of cultivation are not followed in our country. Our farmers do not know the proper use of manure and fertilizer for the fertility of the soil. They are also helpless victims of natural calamities like flood and drought. Many industries of our country depend on agricultural products. Both men and animals depend on agriculture for foodstuff. So failure of crops in any year brings untold sufferings to the entire population of the country. The first thing necessary for the improvement of our agriculture is to educate our peasants. Our farmers should be taught the uses of modern instruments for the cultivation of their land. They should know how to irrigate and manure their soil. But the scientific power pumps, machines, tractors cannot be used in small plots of lands. So co-operative farming should be encouraged. The newly emerging contract farming taken up by a number of private agri-business firms is one approach for promoting food production, specially fruits and vegetables. One possibility for the loss of land is to go for land reclamation in the Bay of Bengal.
Every year natural calamities like floods, cyclones, tidal waves cause a great damage to our crops. To prevent it both the government and the public should come forward. By proper embankment we can save our crops from flood. Plant protection department should actively come forward to prevent diseases and insects to save our plants.
Nowadays, pesticides are being used by the farmers to protect their crops. Dams have been built in some areas of the country. People are now familiar with chemical fertilizer and manure. Now all out efforts are being made for the development of agriculture in our country. So it can be expected that in the near future our country will be self-sufficient in agricultural products.
