|
|
CMCS roundtable finds way to fight erosion of soil fertility
Journalists, agriculture specialists and agro input companies at a roundtable seminar on 25 April, 2011 (Monday) decided to work together to fight continuous erosion of soil fertility by creating awareness among the farmers.
They also stressed the need for simplification of the licensing procedure for setting up plants of organic fertilizers, such as compost.
The seminar held at the conference hall of Dhaka Reporters’ Unity (DRU) was organized by the Centre for Media and Communication Studies (CMCS) and the Forum for Information Dissemination on Agriculture (FIDA) in association with Bangladesh Fertilizer Association (BFA), Innovision Consulting (Pvt) Ltd. and Katalyst.
The seminar on "Soil Fertility, Raising Awareness on Balanced Fertilizer, its Application and the Role of Media" was aimed at finding effective media and communication tools to create awareness among farmers about the risks of unplanned use of chemical fertilizer in the soil.
Salah Uddin, Chairman, Bangladesh Fertilizer association said: “To maintain the fertility of soil appropriate use of fertilizer is very much important. While using fertilizer three aspects have to be taken into consideration – proper time, proper ratio and proper fertilizer.”
He added, “To ensure the food security of our country soil fertility is a major issue. By using balanced fertilizer we can maintain the fertility of our soil. Media can play an important role by disseminating this information.”
Dr. Md. Bahadur Miah, professor of Bangladesh Agriculture University said: “Most of the farmers of our country don’t know how to use balanced fertilizer. We have to train them. We also need to train the dealers and retailers of fertilizer.”
He said the journalists reporting on agriculture also need training, offering support from his university to train media people.
Dr. Md. Shohidul Islam, a Consultant of Graneen Shakti and Ex DG of BARI said different initiatives are there to inform farmers about the importance of using balanced fertilizer. But these are not enough to make a difference, he added.
The government should give subsidy on organic fertilizer, including compost, to make them easily available to the farmers, he said, adding the failure and success of fertilizer depends on integrated nutrient management.
Dr. Md. Feroz Shah Sikder, Ex DG of BRRI & BJRI who is now working for Lal Teer Seed Ltd., said: “The country is now under risk in terms of natural disaster and use of agriculture land.”
Proper use of fertilizer would lead to increase in production, he said, emphasizing the need for creating awareness among the farmers about balanced fertilizer use.
Fazal-E-Elahi, Additional Director, Dhaka Agriculture Extension, said: “There is a huge communication gap between journalists and government officials. There is need for more interaction between media and agriculture officials to facilitate creation of awareness among farmers.”
Reaz Ahmad, Vice President of FIDA, in his keynote presentation, said there is need for policy intervention to cut balance in use of organic and inorganic fertilizers.
He also suggested giving support in terms of subsidy, tariff rebates, policy favours to the producers and marketers of organic manures, such as compost, bio fertilizers, bio slurry etc.
The seminar chaired by Sohel Manzur, Chairman of CMCS, was also addressed by.Kawser Rahman, President of FIDA, Khwaza Mainuddin, General Secretary of FIDA, and Mominul Haque, Specialist (Project Management Division) of Innovision.
|
|
