Output to decline by 8-32pc in 40 years
Feeding the people of Bangladesh will be a major problem the next 40 years since production of rice will decrease by at least eight percent and wheat 32 percent by 2050 due to climate change while the population will go up by 50-75 million over the existing 150 million.
And agricultural scientists have to focus more on facing these challenges, specifically on developing adaptation measures, as climatic changes take place.
Experts expressed these views at an international conference on ‘Crop production under changing climate: agronomic option’ that began in the capital yesterday.
Agronomists from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Sudan are participating in the two-day conference.
Fifty papers on climate change and agriculture in Bangladesh and other parts of the world will be presented at the conference organised by Bangladesh Society of Agronomy.
Mentioning Bangladesh as the country most vulnerable to climate change, the experts said the assumption of Inter-governmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC) about sea level rise comes true in Bangladesh.
Water level rises by at least 5.6 mm a year at Hiron point, 1.4 mm at Cox’s Bazar and 2.9 mm at Khepupara, they said citing 2008 data from Bangladesh Water Development Board.
The country will need another 10-12 million tonnes of food grains in 2050 in addition to the 300 million tonnes now to feed its population, the experts said at the inaugural session of the conference.
Zainul Abedin, president of the agronomy society, said climate change is affecting not only crop production but also health and nutrition of people and economic condition of the country.
“Ultimately serious degradation of livelihood may occur due to climate change,” he said.
Drought, floods, water-logging, salinity intrusion etc are signs of climate change that are affecting agriculture seriously. And agricultural scientists have to come forward to deal with this situation, Zainul said.
He mentioned that scientists have already innovated some varieties of rice which can tolerate salinity, flood water and even drought up to certain level.
Bangladesh Rice Research Institute in cooperation with International Rice Research Institute has developed salinity-tolerant rice variety BR- 47. They have also developed rice varieties which can tolerate submergence due to floods for about two weeks.
Yefes Osman, minister for science and information communication and technology, in his speech said it is the duty of the agronomists to help the farmers at field level and guide the policy-makers to achieve the desired yield of crops.
FAO representative in Bangladesh Ad Spijkers was also present at the conference being held at the Agriculture Research Council.
