RAJSHAHI, May 15, 2023 (BSS) - Legitimate rights of the prominent farmers and others concerned should be protected rightly for the sake of encouraging them towards boosting agricultural productions to meet up its gradually rising demands, speakers at a workshop in Rajshahi said.

Referring to their enormous contribution to the country's agricultural development they unanimously said the farmers deserve the rights of getting all requisite privileges. There is no alternative to protect their interests as a whole.

Academics and researchers came up with the observation while addressing the opening ceremony of a daylong workshop related to the farmers' contribution along with protecting their legitimate rights at Rajshahi University (RU) today.

RU Social Science Faculty organized the workshop at the conference hall of Deans complex, largely participated by academic scholars, researchers and other stakeholders.

The meeting discussed and devised ways and means on how to promote the agriculture system in the Barind area through facing all the existing challenges for the sake of ensuring food security of the gradually rising population.

Vice-chancellor Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar and Director General of Department of Agriculture Extension Badal Chandra Biswas addressed the meeting as chief and special guests respectively with Social Science Faculty Dean Prof Iliash Hossain in the chair.

Prof Nazrul Islam from North South University, Executive Director of RDRS Tapan Kumar Karmaker, Programme Manager of Australian Industrial and Agricultural Council Dr Erich Hartner and Project Leader of University of Western Australia Dr Ferola Robjen also spoke.

Prof Golam Sabbir Sattar mentioned that integrated efforts of all the government and non-government organizations concerned can be the best way for protecting agriculture in Rajshahi Barind area as its living and livelihood condition is largely dependent on agriculture.
 
At present, the conventional farming system is facing a number of challenges due to various reasons, including the adverse impact of climate change, so time-fitting steps has become crucial to face the challenges.
 
Badal Chandra Biswas gave an illustration on the farming system of Barind along with the existing challenges during his keynote presentation.
 
He opined that instead of depending on only Irri-Boro farming, emphasis should be given to the promotion of less-irrigation consuming cereal crops in Barind area to lessen the gradually mounting pressure on underground water.
 
Large-scale promotion of less-water consuming crops could be an effective means of mitigating the condition of water crisis in the drought-prone Barind area.
 
In his remarks, Prof Nazrul Islam mentioned that there are enormous scopes of increasing the acreage of various low-water consuming crops like wheat, black gram, sesame, lentil, maize and pulse in the high Barind tract.
 
He also underscored the need for making agriculture profitable and commercialized to ensure sustainable farming promotion of high-valued crops.