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Constructions on croplands a threat to food security

Says Matia Chowdhury

Staff Correspondent
Setting up new structures on agricultural lands has been posing the biggest threat to die food security, as the amount of cropland is declining fast due to the construction of new industries and houses, .Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said yesterday.
"I am against allowing construction of any new buildings on croplands If we allow it. we will not get • any land for agriculture few years later." she said at the inaugural session of a fanners' training on Agriculture Information and Communication Centre (AICO at die Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) auditorium in thecity.
The Agriculture Information Services (AIS) with support from the UNDP and FAO has set up information centres in ten villages on pilot basis so that the farmers can get information on agriculture through Internet. A Bangla website on agriculture was also launched yesterday.
Matia Chowdhury said she would not allow any new building in the name of setting up such centres. Rather, the Union Parishad buildings can be used for this purpose, she added.
The tragedy is that all want to set up newbuild-ings and procure vehicles whenever any new projects are launched, she said, adding that residential quarters were built for sub-assistant directory ol pAE at upa/ulas few years ago. but thosearent* being used.- ----'- '
DAE officials sometimes use inconsistent statistics, which is totally unexpected, said the minister.
"Don't give false information to the farmers. Increase your knowledge base and train farmers how to apply that knowledge," Matia Chowdhury said and hoped that the farmers would bring a revolutionary change to agriculture by using information technology.
The minister also hoped that Bangladesh will be a food surplus country very soon and the goal of building a digital Bangladesh will be achieved even before2021.
New agro-processing industries should be set up across the country for value addition to agricultural products and to check migration from villages to the cities, she said.
State Minister for Science and ICT Yeafesh Osman underscored the need to educate rural people and farmers about information technology to help build a digital Bangladesh.
UNDP Country Director Stefan Priesner said the use of information technology in sendee delivery system is an effective way of ensuring good governance and better sendee delivery.
Introducing information technology effectively can increase food production and reduce poverty, he said.
Cabinet Secretary Abdul Aziz, AIS Director Nazrul Islam and DAE Director General Mohammad Sayeed Ali also spoke at the programme ch aired bi ayi Lul/qpi secretary p^K Mushtaq Ahmed. . . ‘ '