Farming of resilient and mixed crops can help mitigate food scarcity in South Asia’s coastal areas and fight against the adverse impacts of climate change, speakers told the inauguration of a workshop yesterday. They also emphasised conserving soil nutrition and harvesting rainwater to combat challenges of irregular rainfall which has detrimental effects on crop productivity.
As South Asia is known for its problems centring hunger and malnutrition, there is no alternative to adopting resilient crop farming, they observed.
The three-day workshop, “2nd Sub-Regional Workshop on Community Resilience to Climate Change in the Bay of Bengal-2013” was organised by Bangladesh Unnayan Parishad in the capital’s Spectra Convention Centre.
Presenting a keynote paper on food security, agriculture and livelihood, Ardhendu Sekhar Chatterjee, executive director of Kolkata-based Development Research Communication and Service Centre, said the adverse impacts of climate change would reduce food productivity.
He stated that drought-prone and coastal regions should have different cultivation methods as proper management of agriculture ensures better productivity, which is important for food security.
Prof MM Akash of Dhaka University’s economics department said there were two ways in which food security is ensured — those capable buy from the market while the state intervenes to provide for people of the lower income bracket.
The Bangladesh government claims that there is no problem over food supply but 15 to 20 percent of the population can not afford food, he mentioned.
He emphasised introducing well-managed social safety net programmes for distributing food among people of the lower income bracket.
Since agriculture in South Asia is one of the sectors most vulnerable to climate change, a comprehensive approach must be undertaken to address climate change impacts and ensure food security, emphasised Anup Kumar Saha, a lawmaker from India’s Lok Sabha.
He added that a dramatic increase of climate refugees was also a big challenge for India and Bangladesh.
Addressing as chief guest, Information Minister Hasanul Haq Inu said it was crucial for the region’s governments to develop “a delta and Himalayan action plan” through regional cooperation to address climate change impacts, otherwise none would be able to sustain.
He also urged the governments to undertake “a Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna water management system” and promote community resilience through multi-stakeholder engagements to prevent increasing disasters.
Chairing the session, Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad, coordinator of Bangladesh Climate Change Negotiating Team, urged the global climate negotiators to play a vital role in mitigating the challenges of climate change.
-With The Daily Star input
