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Agriculture Minister MK Anwar Saturday asked the authorities concerned to identify the causes of shifting of farmlands to non-farm sector, reports BSS.
"We have to take steps to protect our cultivable lands to feed the growing number of people as the country's cultivable land is decreasing by one per cent annually affecting agricultural production," he said.
The minister was inaugurating a daylong workshop on "using farm land in non-farm sector," at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in the city as the chief guest.
Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Kamal Uddin Siddiqui and State Minister for Land Ukil Abdus Sattar also spoke on the occasion with Agriculture Secretary Qazi Abul Kashem in the chair.
Director of Soil Resources Development Institute Rezaur Rahman presented the keynote paper at the workshop.
MK Anwar said steps have to be taken to stop use of farmland in non-farm sector as the economic development of the country depends on agriculture.
"Though the contribution of agriculture to the GDP is estimated at 23 per cent, the actual contribution would be almost 50 per cent if we add the contribution of backward and forward linkage industries in the sector," he added.
Ukil Abdus Sattar underlined the need for co-ordination between industry and agriculture sectors. He called upon all concerned to ensure proper application of land related laws to stop decreasing farm lands.
In his keynote speech, Rezaur Rahman put forward a number of recommendations including ensuring proper enforcement of land related laws, taking steps to halt river bank erosion, increasing use of cement instead of soil and establishing land data base to this end.
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