Bangabandhu's vibrant thoughts on agricultural development

Bangabandhu`s policy made BD role model in agriculture. Bangladesh has become a 'role model' in the world for increasing agricultural production significantly in the past few decades, making the country self-reliant for staple food-grains and rice production increased about 4 times compare to 1972. In the last 47 years after the liberation, the country's food grain, including paddy production soared to nearly 4 crore metric tons from the production level of 1.10 crore MT in 1972 while the arable land declined by nearly 30 percent.

The country has also ranked the first in jute export and second in jute production, first in increasing fruit yield per hectare, first in crop variety development, third in vegetable production yield, fourth in rice and tea production, seventh in mango production, seventh in mango production, eighth in guava and potato production, fourth in fresh water fish production in the world. 

Bangabandhu laid the stone for Agricultural development in Bangladesh. His constructive thoughts, policies and plan initiated the inclusive development of agriculture in Bangladesh. After the independence, Bangabandhu had taken some major initiatives for the development of the farmers and increasing food production. Contribution of Bangabandhu is to the country's agriculture sector was phenomenal.

The Father of the Nation took effective policy measures for modernising agriculture sector, which was saddled with traditional practices. At the same time he took some firm decisions for ensuring farmers fair prices so they can live a decent life. He also upgraded the status of the government officials who work in the field of agriculture.

Bangabandhu understood that agriculture will not only provide food to feed the people, but also will remain as the main source of income for the majority of the people. Therefore he rightly prioritized agriculture and industrialization as the forces to rely on.

He took some prudent initiatives to ensure agricultural growth. Some of these initiatives were: rebuilding the war-ravaged agricultural infrastructure, ensuring supply of agricultural equipment on emergency basis free of cost or at concessional rates, ensuring adequate supply of seed, cancelling 1 million certificate cases for loan default against farmers filed during the Pakistan period, exempt agricultural credit for marginal farmers, withdraw of certificate cases against them and distribute 'khas' land among landless people, fixing minimum fair prices for agro-products, cooperative farming, subsidies in agricultural inputs, facilitate irrigation, emphasis on agricultural education, reform and rebuilding agricultural research, land reform, ration facilities for poor and marginal farmers etc.

Bangabandhu revitalised the agriculture research, education and extension system and introduced technology based modern agriculture in the country. He created Bangladesh Agricultural Council, Horticulture Development Board, Seed Certification Agency, Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Bangladesh Tea Research Institute etc.

Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute also upgraded and mordernized during his tenure. Bangabandhu had taken improved and short-time cultivation method. Bangladesh would never be self-reliant in food if Bangabandhu didn't importance on agricultural research to extend cropping of the high yielding rice verities in the country.

Bangabandhu has a strong dream to revive the Bangla as Sonar Bangla. He mentioned in his many speeches and writing the prase `Sonar Bangla'. Even before the independence of Bangladesh always he was thinking about the reestablishing the Sonar Bangla which was few centuries before. 

Past glory of this land inspired him for such thinking. He knew that, once the Bengal was a land of prosperity and happiness. The proverb `store house full of paddy, pond full of fishes' (Gola vora dhan, pukur vora mach) revealed the story of happiness and golden era of Bengal in the past. The country was famous for its agricultural production at that time. The country exported muslin, silk, cotton, spices etc.

This land attracted many foreign traders. Bengal was a real trade hub in that era. In 18th century, the life standard of Bengal was compared with Great Britain. Bangabandhu knew all these things about the glorious past and thought to revive all these. He believed that this country will regain the past golden glory by attaining sustainable agriculture production. His plan was to double the agricultural production which can feed the huge people.

To make this, he realized the reality and means. He said in one of his speech, "To build a Golden Bengal, we need Golden People. Bangladesh is plagued by exploitation, oppression, and looting. To solve these problems and to build a happy and prosperous Bangladesh, the people needs to work hard to increase production."

These were words from the heart of our Father of the Nation. He uttered `We will turn this war-ravaged country into a golden one. In the Bengal of future- mothers will smile, and children will play. It will be a society free of exploitation. Start the movement of development in the fields and farms and in the factories. We can surely rebuild the country through hard work. Let us work together so that the Golden Bengal shines again.'

Bangabandhu had a miraculous vision to engage the educated people in agriculture. He thought that, our farmers are poor and don't have sufficient knowledge on modern farming. If they become educated and trained, if the meritorious people can receive agricultural education and can work practically in the field with the farmers, the development will attain immediately.

Therefore, his ridiculous speech on 13 February, 1973 at Convocation of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh was a inspirable matter to attract more meritorious student in agricultural education. The grade up of the agricultural diploma holders to first class officials on February 13 in 1973 inspired the agriculturists to work more for the development of the country's agriculture sector.

He felt that, agriculture works is meaningless without practical work. Only reading books are not enough for development. Therefore he mentioned in his speech clearly that each and every agriculturist must go to the villages, work and share with the farmers. He knew that, if we want to make ridiculous changes of agriculture sector, we have to train the farmers and motivation is important to improve the traditional practices. He focused his intention on agricultural revolution in his inspiring speech.

Bangabandhu understood that we have resources, but we don't know how to use and integrate those. Always he mentined in his several speech that, we have so fertile land where plant can be grown sowing seeds only and those plants give us fruits. So, why our people will suffer for food?

He mentioned one of his speech that rice-bread can fill the stomach, but if we want to develop an intelligent nation we have to ensure balance food and nutrition for all. Without a talent nation, no country can attain development. Therefore he gave emphasis not only on rice, wheat or maize production, also he tried to give equal importance on fish, meat, egg, milk, vegetables and fruit production.

He generated a vibrant idea for integrated farming following the collective farming approach. His driven force had given the right direction to the farming community to boost up agricultural production. 

Collective farming and rural development 

Bangabandhu knew that farmers of Bangladesh and their land are bonded with a deep relation like mother and child. Farmers are solely reliable on land for their feed and lives. He thought, this relationship should remain unchanged at any cost. Therefore he tried to introduce the collective farming system in where farmers will grow their crops jointly without breaking their land borders or ails.

His vision was to develop a special village-development movement for inclusive development of rural community. He outlined the structure of that in where it was described very specifically about the formation of rural cooperatives, funding, production and distribution system etc. He developed that outline based on four fundamental issues like increase agricultural production, distribution, employment and inclusive development of the villages.

For convenient financial and production management, he proposed to form a rural cooperative having land within 299 acre to 500 acre. The land owners and growers will form a management committee in where 12 from the owners, 6 from the landless and farm labour group and 3 as nominated members. Each rural cooperative had an advisory board.  This was described in the introduction of first fifth year plan 1973-1978.

What a imaginary power of Bangabandhu was to rightly balancing between the agricultural production and distribution system if we see the village development projects outline. He mentioned that the management committee will prepare a production plan, determine the crops according to that, crop calendar, cultivate those crops without hampering the land ownership and inheritance.

He proposed to distribute produces 33 percent to the land owners and 67 percent to the cooperative in where committee can spend maximum 70 percent for production and input cost, 7 percent for cooperative management and establishment cost, 10 percent for capital development, 1 percent for tax and tariff, 5 percent for village welfare. The members will get 25 percent profit from their earnings, 25 for management committee members and 50 percent will be spent for rural development.

He allocated about taka 1 crore for this at that time. He wanted to do piloting in 75 villages first and planned to form 50 thousand rural cooperatives throughout the country. It was estimated that if those cooperatives function well, about 1 lakh ton rice will be produced more annually which value was in that time was about 3600 crore taka. Not only that, about 10 lakh farmers and youths will be employed and 25 lakh farmers will be trained thorough these. Undoubtly it can be said that if such plan was implemented, a ridiculous change was happened in rural development.

Based on this hard foundation, Bangladesh is transforming into upper-middle economy in 2031 and developed economy and a developed economy by 2041 as aspired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. For this, we must keep on the progress of the key factor agriculture development at any cost.

The writer is the Project Director of Integrated Farm Management Copmonent- 2nd Phase, DAE, Khamarbari, Dhaka.