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Formulating a comprehensive national land use policy is a must to ensure optimum use of agricultural land, prevent land degradation, reserve and improve the land resources for the future generation, reports BDNEWS.
Speakers stressed this at a workshop on "Conversion of valuable agricultural land into non-agricultural uses" organised by the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Centre (BARC) at its conference room. They also emphasised the need for reclamation of unused or degraded land for suitable use.
Agriculture minister M K Anwar, State Minister for Land Abdus Sattar Bhuiyan, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Kamal Uddin Siddiqui, Executive Chairman of BARC M Nurul Alam and Member Director of BARC Farid Uddin Ahmed spoke at the workshop with Agriculture Secretary Kazi Abul Kashem in the chair.
Former director, Soil Resource Development Institute, Rezaur Rahman presented the keynote paper at the workshop while different officials of agriculture and land ministry were present on the occasion.
MK Anwar said huge areas of agricultural land have been converted into non-agricultural land for illogical demand. That's why every year agricultural land of the country has been reduced by one per cent, he said.
He stressed the need for proper planning to use land and for conducting a survey to demarcate the land.
Kamal Uddin Siddiqui said, "We can determine the country's status and plan of action." A pragmatic plan of action should incorporate different time frames for implementation, he added.
Siddiqui said government could transfer the power to reserve and improve the land resources to the local government.
Rezaur Rahman said land zoning is one of the best ways to protect good agricultural land from non-agricultural use. It has a bearing on optimum utilisation of land to assure protection of bio-diversity, conserve soil and prevent land degradation, he added.
Soil Resources Development Institute has prepared an example of land zoning in Gazipur. Bangladesh still posses about 35 per cent of good agricultural land, 40 per cent of moderate agri-land and 25 per cent of poor to very poor agricultural land.
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