Many projects related to food productions had gone in vein due to Combination among projects & Lack of right focus. For example, many of our roads are constructed to the parallel of rivers and canals without plan. If we use the soil of rivers and canals for road constructions then it will safe cost of soil arrangement for roads and dredging cost for rivers and canals. Again embankment can safe our rivers and canals from land grabbers. But embankment roads are unsafe and later on needed to reshape. So, I think we need strict "Right program & Right Patronization" policy. For Environment friendly Regional Balanced development; UNESCAP can develop multiple bi-pass highways with involving funds from banks & other financial institutions. By this I think, UNESCAP can play an important role by minimizing food price by reducing transportation cost and food scarcity in remote areas.
There are huge cultivable lands in world are in a barren stage as well as huge people are unemployed. If we can develop ourselves with global personality & skill and able to turn these barren lands under production with proper local & international management, I think food and nutrition problem will be eliminated. I think IOM can also play a significant role for international agri-employees security & food production management.
If we cultivate suitable plants on Slope of Highway & Railway, Barren-lands, Indoor & Coastal (SHARBIC) areas, then rain water flow will be maximum used as a part of Securing Water for Food and roads & highway will be save from mudslide. We can use GIS and other IT service for enhance (SHARBIC) gardening. It will increase beautification to there as well as enhance total national tea production. Please note ‘Sharbic’ means Total.
Social farming/ care farming is an important source of food & nutrition. I think to enhance social farming/ care farming, there should be compulsory free of cost or very low cost bank account against each social farmer. This account should be used for maintaining all sorts of expenditure relevant to care farming. From local to international donation -everything might be operating through this account. In remote areas where branches of any bank are unavailable, there might be engaged agent of Bank. There also should be Green environmental Loan disbursement target for each branch of each bank. Agent of Banks also needed to be involved in here. Its transparency & regular monitoring could be possible using latest low cost IT products & services.
Veranda gardening, Rooftop gardening, indoor aquaculture etc should be considered as urban social farming for bank loan sanctioning. I think this will enhance economy specially women economy. Social farming should focus more on food & nutrition production rather than armature farming because water, time, money etc are involved in here. As for social farming, 100% pure is not necessary, water reuse policy could be applied there. Domestic Bio fertilizer, warm fertilizer etc could be used there. Using renewable energy for care farming should be influenced.
Agri-telemedicine could be a significant tool for nutrition / malnutrition relevant advice sharing for all specially for the people of remote areas. To operate Agri-telemedicine agriculturists and other specialists are needed to be trained up in local language. Online based diplomas in home economics, care farming, or any relevant short courses are necessary in this regard.
14th April- Pohela Boishakh (Beginning day of Bengali new year)- is a heritage of South & southeast Asian countries including Bangladesh (ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pohela_Boishakh). This calendar was formed as a crop calendar. Now at the time of Global warming, water and food insecurity; we can globally observe this day that is 14th April as "Global Crop Calendars Day”. By this we can estimate crop production delaying or any hazards form 1556 to till now. All the same, other regional calendars of the world could be influenced for enhancing crop production.
Thank you
Muhammad Ariful Haque
Muhammad Ariful Haque