RAJSHAHI: Legitimate rights of the farmers and others concerned should be protected rightly for the sake of encouraging them towards boosting agricultural productions to meet up its gradually demands, speakers at a discussion here said, reports BSS. They referred to their enormous contribution to the country’s agricultural development, the speakers unanimously said the farmers deserve the rights of getting all requisite privileges. There is no alternative to protect their interests as a whole. They were addressing the inaugural session of a daylong farmers gathering held on the Public Library premises in the metropolis on Sunday. On the occasion, 21 farmers were awarded as recognition of their laudable contribution to the farming field.
Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK), a rights-based development organization, organized the programme in observance of the World Food Day-2016. More than 300 farmers from various areas in vast Barind tract attended the meeting.
Additional Commissioner of Rajshahi division Sultan Abdul Hamid addressed the discussion as chief guest saying the present government is very much positive towards protecting the legitimate rights of the farmers.
Lauding their contribution to the farm production he urged the attending farmers to avail the incentives and other opportunities being provided by the government. With farmers’ organizer valiant freedom fighter Shamsuddin Mondal in the chair, Farmers Rahima Khatun and Abdul Mukid Dulal also spoke.
During his keynote presentation, Shahidul Islam, Barind Region Coordinator of BARCIK, puts forward a demand of initiating pension scheme
for the old aged farmers for their food security.
He mentioned that the diversities are gradually declining now due to various natural and manmade catastrophes posing a serious threat to the farmers’ community. So, there should be a campaign and state level interventions.
In the wake of abnormal declining of natural resources like native crop seeds, fish and birds species and other wildlife, conservation of natural resources has become indispensable for facing the adverse impacts of climate change.
The development activist opined that many native crops and vegetable varieties are gradually declining. Many of the native fish species, particularly the small indigenous ones are on the verge of extinction due to various reasons.
Importance should be given to capacity building to address climate change in the region with special reference to conservation of drought tolerant species.