Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud today said Bangladesh has ensured the food security by surprising the globe, even the World Food Organization through various invention of agriculturalists and tireless labours of farmers under the supervision of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

“It is essential to protect the agricultural land to make food security intact,” he said, addressing a seminar on ‘Agriculture and media in food security in the global situation’ at Krishibid Institute in the capital.

The minister said the agricultural land in the country decreases by one percent every year. In this way if two lakh acres of land are lost every year, then at last there will be no more agricultural land, he added.

Hasan said the population of the country will be increased by about four crore more after 20 years and about 40 lakh acres of agricultural land will be reduced. Mass awareness is needed to ensure food security for additional people and those who are working on this issue they will have to be taken into consideration, he added.

The minister said, “When the issue of road extension of Chattogram comes to me then I put stressed on road expansion without not damaging to agricultural land, hills, forests, environment and nature.”

Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzak addressed the seminar as the chief guest with Agriculture Secretary Md Sayedul Islam in the chair.

Agriculture University Emeritus Professor MA Sattar Mandal presented the keynote paper while Agriculture Information Service director Dr Surazit Saha Roy gave welcome address.

Hasan said many farmers kept their land fallow as they don’t get much benefit for the price of wages workers. It will become easy to face the challenge of food security if the fallow land would be cultivated through mechanization, he added.

And, the mass media could play a pivotal role to create awareness among the people and the responsible persons on this issue, said Hasan, also Awami League joint general secretary.

He said Bangladesh is the 92nd largest city in the world and it (country) is the mostly densely populated country across the globe. Bangladesh is the innocent victim of climate change, he said, adding, for this, it is normally a big challenge to ensure food security.

He said the position of the country is third in producing paddy and fish of freshwater, fourth in producing vegetables and seventh in potato.

Hasan urged the media to present the issues so that the country and its people will be benefitted.

Razzak said there is no big crop in the field and it will be possible to mitigate the loss due to flood. For this, extensive preparations have already been started and there will be no major loss in the current flood, he added.

He said Aman paddy will not be damaged in the flood and there is no much seedbed planted across the country. “We have preserved adequate seeds and it will be given to farmers later,” he added.

Channel i director Shykh Seraj, Dhaka Tribune executive editor Riaz Ahmed, the daily Janakatha chief reporter Kowsar Rahman and the daily Prothom Alo Senior Reporter Golam Ifthekhar Mahmud, among others, took part in the discussion.

Later in the afternoon, Information and Broadcasting Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud chaired the monthly coordination meeting at the meeting room of his ministry at Secretariat.

In the meeting, he gave directives on preparations of different activities marking the inaugural function of the much-awaited Padma Bridge.

Secretary of the ministry Md Mokbul Hossain conducted the meeting while additional secretaries Faruque Ahmed and Khadiza Begum and chiefs of different organizations of the ministry were present. BSS