Biography

Professor Dr. Kazi M. Badruddoza

BAAS President (1977-1978)

Dr. Kazi Mohammad Badruddoza was born on 1 January 1927 in Bogra, Bangladesh. He obitained B.Ag. (Hons.) and M. Ag. in 1950 and 1952 respectively from the Agricultural Institute, University of Dhaka. He recievied Ph.D. from the LA. State University, USA in 1975 and Dip-in- Genetics in 1960 from the Lund University, Sweden.

Dr. Badruddoza started his career as a Research Scientist, Economic Botany Division, Agricultural Research Institute, Dhaka. He was the Executive Director, Pakistan Research Council from 1964-1972. He was the Director (Agriculture), Bangladesh and founder Director of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) from 1974-1979. He was the Chairman of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC) from 1974 to 1977 and 1979-1981; Chief Research adviser, FAO/UNDP, Hanoi Vietnam from 1985 to 1988 and Emeritus Scientist, National Agricultural Research System (NARS), Bangladesh. He developed “Kazi Peara” and introduced field scale cultivation. His fields of specialization are Plant Breeding and Institution Building.

Dr. Badruddoza is the founder Director of Bangladesh Academy of Agriculture and is a Fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences. He is the National Emeritus Scientist, Bangladesh He is the recipient of “Kazi Mahabullah Gold Medal” and D.Sc. (Honoris Causa, India) and Independence Day Gold Medal.

 

Presidential Address

8 January 1978

The Role of Science in Solving Food Problem of Bangladesh

 

Hon’ble President;

The Vice-Chancellor;

Distinguished Guests;

Fellow Scientists;

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

It is a distinct honour to have been elected as the General President of the Bangladesh Association for the Advancement Science (BAAS). I am grateful to my fellow scientists for this. My long association with them, and the benefits from their research to which I can satisfy, give me ample reason to respect their professional ingenuity and skill. I, therefore, seek their fullest cooperation in discharging my duties to the cause of Science and Technology. We have President Ziaur Rahman with us at the opening session. On behalf of the Association and myself, I would like to say that we feel extremely honoured by the presence of the Hon‟ble President at this gathering of scientists from all parts of the country and abroad. It is, indeed encouraging to see that, inspite of his multifarious pre-occupation, the Hon‟ble President has found time to participate in this function and thus show his keen interest in Science. The scientific community will always remember with gratitude his personal effort in establishing the National Council of Science and Technology, and creating a position of Science Adviser. His understanding of and concern for rural problems have been a source of inspiration and hope for all who believe that the economic progress of Bangladesh is dependent on the prosperity of her rural masses. I am hopeful that, under his dynamic leadership and clear policy direction, a symbiotic interaction, between science, and society will grow, accelerating economic development and improving the human lot. Scientific research and study in Bangladesh is carried out by six universities, four research councils and as many as sixteen research institutes/centers. Generally speaking, the basic and supporting research is undertaken by the universities and applied research by the research institutes. Despite various constraints, the accomplishments of our scientists have been of very good standard. A few examples of their many useful achievements were given in the presidential address of Science Conference last year. I do not wish to dwell on these, except adding that advances in engineering sciences, physical sciences, applied chemistry, medical sciences and agricultural sciences have been considerable, both in extending frontiers of knowledge and solution of problems. Our scientists deserve appreciation for this. Science has, by and large, been connected with industrialization and urbanization, and has not given adequate attention to a comprehensive study of rural problems and their solutions. But it is now increasingly realized that improving productivity of villages can provide millions of people not only with more food, but also with better housing, clothing, health, education and prosperity. Science has a great role to play in this field. The overwhelming majority of our people lives in villages and will continue to do so for years to come. It is clear enough that unless life in a rural community is made fairly good and sustainable for all the problem of poverty cannot be solved. In fact, it will get worse. Therefore, science must give itself a rural bias, with emphasis on the increased production of basic food commodities, the production of labor-intensive industry in rural areas and the expansion of input supplies and marketing channels into area where none had existed before.

Our land and water resources are vast and varied. The agro- climatic conditions offer scope for cultivation of a wide-range of crops throughout the year. The assets are great, yet how is it that we cannot provide for the basic minimum needs of our population and that we face problems of under-employment and unemployment? How can we solve such problems? The only real way to overcome the problems, and improve standards of living, is to increase productivity through balanced rural-urban growth.

You will understand, I am sure, the time doesn‟t permit to discuss all the many complex problems that limit productivity in various fields and their solutions. I would, therefore, like to give in my address here emphasis on the most pressing problem we are now facing and the role of science to solve it. It is the food problem in the solution of which there is need for integrated efforts of agricultural scientists, physical scientists, biologists, engineers, nutritionists, chemists and many others.

There is a current annual deficit of about 2 million tons of food grain. The total food grain need for the present population of 85 million and the estimated population of 109 million by 1987 is about 13 and 17 million tons respectively. A production increase of about 39 per cent is required, if the country is to produce its own food grains. This 39 per cent increase will require an average annual growth rate of 4.5 per cent. Can this be achieved?

In view of limited exploitation of modern technological production potential so far, the most rapid increases in crop productivity can immediately result from the application of known technology, for example, improved varieties of fertilizers, water-management and pest control. High priority should be accorded to irrigations and command area development which can play a major role in this regard. An integrated strategy for utilization of ground and surface water, and for harvesting rain water in each ecological and topographic area, will especially help to raise food production. Use

of improved varieties, proper time of planting, fertilization and irrigation can even double the yield of many crops grown during the rainy season. It is not only possible. I believe, to achieve the necessary growth rate but also even possible to go beyond this, if we can efficiently use our soil and water resources, and make efforts to reach the small farmers who are poor but responsive. If they can be persuaded to modernize their techniques, and if they are serviced with the necessary institutions, they are as effective in their use of fertilizers, pesticides and water as the rich farmers, perhaps, even more so.

Our average yields of rice and wheat are of the order of 1.0 (11.13 mds. per acre) and 1.5 (16.70 mds. per acre) tons per hectare respectively. The position with regard to pulses and oilseeds is even worse. We have only to compare this with the average yield of rice of 5.6 (62.32 mds. per acre) tons per hectare in countries with small holdings like Taiwan and Japan, and the average yield of wheat at 2 (22.26 mds. per acre) tons per hectare in neighboring West Bengal (India) to see the long gap between what seems possible and what we are presently accomplishing.

There are important farm operations, such as, irrigation and pest control as well as timely land preparation, which will need community endeavour as it would be difficult for each small farmer to undertake effectively these tasks himself. It would, therefore, be necessary to develop appropriate institutional arrangements to approach the problem in its totality; else it will be difficult to give substantial jumps in productivity which are, otherwise, well within our reach purely on scientific considerations.

As technology of the future, while we make progress to sustain production and make further improvement, will be required to solve many more complicated production problems than now, it will demand collective action. Consideration may have to be given to fix a minimum limit to operational land holdings, below which the holding should not be fragmented whatever be the ownership pattern. The actual size limit will need to be varied according to quality of the land and water resource.

Production emphasis should not are given to food grains like rice or wheat alone. Equal opportunity exists for pulses and oilseeds, tubers, and multitudes of fruits, vegetables and non-conventional foods. This will have a sparing effect on cereal grain consumption and also improve nutrition status of our diet.

2 In many areas of Bangladesh, the farmer on a small holding can be engaged  in  labour  intensive  „gardening‟  systems  of  agriculture such as inter-cropping (planting more than one crop in the same field, perhaps, in alternate rows), multiple cropping (planting several crops in succession, up to four a year in some places), and relay planting (sowing a second crop between the rows of an earlier maturing crop) that are highly productive per unit of land. For example, in China, wheat is planted first. At the end of one month when wheat emerges, maize is planted between appropriate rows of wheat. Later, wheat is harvested, while maize continues to grow. Both are short-duration crops and in about 4 1 months time, two crops are harvested and the combined yields are generally about 45% higher than could be obtained with a single crop of either wheat or maize. There are many crops which will allow this kind of intensive cropping in Bangladesh and increase yield per unit area. In fact, some encouraging results in this respect have already been obtained by our farmers and research institutes.

There are crops which are not now commercially grown in Bangladesh, but which are highly productive. These are maize and sorghum, and these should be introduced for field-scale cultivation where conditions are suitable. Similarly, soyabean has a good prospect as a pulse or oilseed. More research emphasis should be given to the testing and adaptation of potentially suitable crops such as cassava, oil palm and sun-flower.

There is a serious nutrition deficiency in the diet of the people. In many instances, it is not so much due to lack of food in the market as due to lack of purchasing power in the hands of poor urban and rural people. Therefore, the food problem in many areas needs to be stated not just in terms of a certain quantity of food grains alone, but also in terms of certain man-years of jobs. which would provide the source to buy food by everyone. If there is remunerative market to absorb home-grown food, a major difficulty in producing more food will be considerably minimized. Self-reliant rural industry and more work for rural people will be needed to generate purchasing power. Numerous industries that are labour intensive and yet can be started with small capital investment, can benefit the rural masses, as for examples, weaving, dyeing, handicrafts and manufacture of locks, latches, paints, etc. There is also need for resources and an effective mechanism to purchase agricultural produce and its storage in good condition. Both uneconomic depression in prices and considerable losses in poor home-storage can be prevented this way.

Thus ample opportunity exists to improve production of crops. Clearly, an extended and improved science is only one of the requirements. Road systems must be extended as much as power grids; marketing systems of credit. Equally important is a broad based educational system with curricula designed to meet country‟s needs.

We need to give a much greater emphasis to agriculture than it has been accorded in the past; we must balance resource and population through balanced economic, social and intellectual development. An encouraging fact is that in those areas where agriculture has progressed rapidly in the past twenty years (e.g. People‟s Republic of China, Taiwan, South Korea and Tunisia), birth rates have gone down.

I have spoken so far about some of the approaches and policies needed for increasing the efficiency of adoption of technology to improve productivity. Emphasis on this, does not mean that what is required to be done on the scientific front has been accomplished. On the contrary, food sufficiency requires more than a few wheat or rice varieties that run out in a few years‟ time and than simple fertilizer or pesticide applications and irrigation. Our production potential is far beyond what has been currently achieved. There are yet unsolved and complicated problems restricting production and many more will crop up with every change, All these will require continued research efforts to solve various problems. It is not possible to list here all the problem-areas, but I would like to refer to a few obvious ones to cite as examples.

 

Problems-Areas:

⦁ There is need for detailed inventory of land, water and other resources, village by village. This will help in planning and taking appropriate steps needed to improve productivity and reach the food and nutritional targets.

⦁ Weather is the most detrimental factor in food crop productivity. More refined and accurate weather forecasting would greatly improve the ability and farmers to decide the management practices that would increase crop yields e.g. by adjustment of planting date to avoid drought or excess water at such critical stages as germination, flowering, harvest etc.

⦁ Studies should be made in the development of low-cost methods of recycling wastes for agricultural use and to optimize the impact of these wastes on crop production. Emphasis should also be given on nitrogen fixation by algae and on the possibility of transferring of the nitrogen-fixing property of legumes to nonleguminous plants.

⦁ It is essential to establish systems of rotational, inter and relay cropping of legumes and non-legume crops that would minimize the need for nitrogen fertilizer and be consistent with yield agriculture.

⦁ More studies are needed on efficient use of fertilizers- their time of application, placement, up-take and control of looses due to leaching during the rainy season.

⦁ Research is need to (a) genetically combine drought resistance, salinity tolerance with other desirable traits to stabilize and increase production in marginal areas; (b) improve plant-water-use efficiency by genetic means; and

(c) develop management practices to increase water-use efficiency.

⦁ Increasing the production of domestic animals, poultry and fish by breeding, reduction of infertility, better nutrition and health, needs much closer study. Disease problems of cattle and the utilization of non-conventional sources of feed require more scientific work.

⦁ Forestry research including the introduction and plantation of quick yielding fuel and pulp trees such and annual strains of bamboo need more intensive attention and support. Research on chemical engineering and industrial aspects of wood should be strengthened.

⦁ Use of chemical pesticide, though harmful for mammals and fish, will continue to be used for the control of crop pests. But there is need to apply them with due care and caution. Surveillance and early warning systems need to be developed so as to predict the appearance of the pests and take timely steps to control them with the minimum quantity of pesticides. This will reduce the present extensive use of pesticides.

⦁ Erosion is a potentially critical problem in the hill-tracts. Such soil is essentially a non-renewable resource. Effective control methods must be developed and related to different crop management practices.

⦁ The hill-tracts ecosystem should be studied in an integrated manner for balanced exploitation and conservation of natural resources.

⦁ There are many unexplored tropical plants with economic values. We must scrutinize these plant species, many of which are still untested, but may prove very useful as human food. For example, winged bean, a fast growing heavy bearing perennial which has recently been introduced in Bangladesh, has great potential for small-scale farmers. Its seeds have a higher oil and protein content than soyabeans and the plant has the added advantage for protein rich roots and edible foliage. Similarly, our marine wealth has to be adequately tapped.

⦁ Research on dehydration, preservation, sanitation and control of spoilage of food must be stepped up. This will save wastage and also facilitate export of perishable goods.

⦁ Intensive research attention is needed for the exploitation of unconventional sources of food and energy, such as, algae, yeast, mushroom, water-hyacinth, leaf-protein etc. Water- hyacinth might one day provide a new source of energy, if it can be converted in biogas. The recovery of fuel from this aquatie weed, even if on a small scale, has interesting applications, especially in our rural areas.

⦁ Research is needed for low-cost housing, communication systems, water supply, energy system, sanitation, medical care (preventive and curative), indigenous system of medicine and family planning to give effective support to rural development programmes.

⦁ Post-harvest losses during handling, storage and delivery constitute a major constraint for food adequacy. Such losses might be as high as 16% of production and often go unnoticed. Improper drying before storage causes heavy losses due to fungus and insect infestation. Studies on the methods of storage already in vogue in the rural areas should be made to improve them so as to suit the local conditions.

⦁ Attention should be given to develop and produce machinery, equipment, implements, tools and appliances suitable for increasing efficiency of farm operations and rural industrialization using, as far as possible, our own resources.

 

⦁ The vast majority of our population is outside the formal system of education. It is difficult to bring about social transformation and economic development by depriving them of the benefit of education. The non-formal education can be an important approach to improve their knowledge and skills. Studies should be undertaken to develop ways of non-formal education suited to the needs of the country. Formal education should support and contribute to the development of non-formal education. Vocational training in maintenance and operation of various machineries, bee- keeping, fish rearing, poultry and many other new innovations must be developed and introduced.

⦁ There is one other area of research needed to complement, supplement and in some cases guide the research done by the scientists. This is socio-economic research that relates to the over all production, processing, marketing and consumption system. It must be given due importance, if we are to maximize the results of research in other areas.

I have just cited few examples of problem areas. There are many more like these. In spite of good accomplishments so far with the resources available to scientists, in total, we have only scratched the surface when compared to the challenges and opportunities ahead.

 

Farm Level Studies:

Generalized recommendations about fertilizer rates, pest control and seed varieties developed under ideal conditions of experiment stations without much regard to such important variables as local climatic conditions, soil types and pests, often failed, when tried in farmers‟ fields. There is need to identify, through continuing trials in farmers‟ fields. There is need to identify, through continuing trials in farmers‟ fields, the specific combinations of crop and animal production practices that will provide maximum productivity and profitability. This involves studies on representative farms of each agroregion, and participation of scientists, farmers and extension agents. Participation plays an important role to introduce new technology. This doesn‟t mean  that local people have necessarily to participate in the process itself. It means that ways have to be devised by which the local people get interested in the whole process of generation of technology and become motivated to contribute as much as possible. To a great extent, it is basically a matter of dynamic inter-change of relevant information between the scientists and the people. Rapid technology transfer, in the past, has been most successful in those cases where visual evidence of benefits was readily apparent. Similarly, pilot demonstration units are needed in different areas for the different industries to make people conscious of the benefits of new innovations.

It must, however, be remembered that the farm-level research is neither a substitute for research that is carried out at the experiment stations to develop components for farming system such as new varieties, fertilizer use guide-lines, methods to control pests, practices to increase water-use efficiency etc., nor a substitute for basic and supporting research done at the research institutes and universities to extend the frontiers of knowledge.

 

Coordinated Research:

In order to achieve full benefits from limited facilities, multi- disciplinary coordinated team approach in research is helpful. The various research institutes and agencies may participate as partners in such a programme for the attainment of common objectives. This will avoid wasteful duplication of efforts and make full use of scarce resources, and improve speed of research in solving problems.

While I bring out the need for team approach in the solution of problems, I do not wish to underestimate the individual efforts.

Not all good scientists adapt to the team approach. Some of the significant achievements have come from individual efforts. Such efforts of talented scientists should also be encouraged.

Some Basic Steps Needed to Strengthen Present Research System:

I would now like to refer to a few basic steps which deserve consideration to strengthen the, present research system.

⦁ The financial allocation for science and technology is, at present, very inadequate (about 0.3 per cent of GDP) compared to the existing opportunities and challenges. Whereas in the developed countries, extensive research is carried out by private institutes / industries, they play virtually no part at all in Bangladesh. All of it is wholly financed by the government. In a developing country like Bangladesh, a highly productive approach would be to allocate, at least, 2 per cent of GDP for R & D effort.

⦁ Science is international in its origin and application. Stronger links, therefore, need to be developed with the international scientific community to provide Bangladeshi scientists with access to the rapidly developing store of scientific knowledge, skills and materials. International meetings to discuss advances in special problem-areas serve an extremely important function in the interchange of new advances in technology. The greater participation of competent technologists and scientists in such international conferences should be encouraged.

⦁ There is need for inter-institutional collaboration at the working level. It is felt that the lack of interaction between university academicians and scientists of government and semi-government research institutes is a major functional problem in the field of science. An effective mechanism will be cooperative research programmes as well as interchange of personnel between the scientific establishments, the universities and the industries, even for a short period of time.

 

Scientists working in the research institutes and universities should be encouraged to spend a certain amount of time as consultants to industrial concerns. This will lead to better communication between industry and scientists.

⦁ The most valuable resource in the nation is its trained minds, i.e., the scientists and the technologists. The promotion of scientific workers and their appointment to key positions in many institutions are still based on seniority and not on demonstrated merit of scientific work. This reduces efficiency of active young scientists and encourages „brain-drain‟. Improved selection, evaluation and promotion procedures based on merit should be introduced for efficient utilisation of our scientists. Personnel policies should be such as to: (i) promote scientists without shifting from their respective fields of specializations by delinking salary and posts, (ii) deglamarise management positions and (iii) encourage them to work in rural areas without for going good educational opportunities for their children and other benefits.

⦁ The important scientific societies now operating in the country, should start honouring/awarding scientists for outstanding contributions. This will give recognition and centives to good scientists and improve quality of their performance.

⦁ Total requirement of man-power at various levels and in different fields should be carefully worked out in accordance with the need for the next ten years. The National Council of Science & Technoinlogy has a definite role to play in it.

⦁ A comprehensive National Programme of Training (internal and external) should be prepared and correlated with the facilities available with the educational institutions in the country and abroad so that training proceeds in an orderly manner and the requisite man-power becomes available to meet the needs of the country, It cannot, as is now too frequently the case, be left to an in coordinated collection of fellowship or training award, provided largely by external technical assistance organisations.

⦁ The most stultifying element in government and semi- government research institutes is the civil service system of command structure which is completely unsuitable for the requirements of good scientific work and administration. There is need to carefully study the personnel management systems evolved by institutions such as the US Department of Agriculture, the National Science Foundation and the Science Corporations, etc., and introduce radical changes in the organisation of science in Bangladesh. The creation of a command structure suited to the genius of science is an urgent need to put science on healthy lines.

⦁ There also exists an immediate need to create a visible focus for Bangladesh Science, by constructing a Science Centre Building in Dacca. A serious deficiency of the infra-structure of science in Bangladesh is the lack of accommodation for various science organizations. Most of these, including the National Council of Science and Technology, the Agricultural Research Council, the Medical Research Council, the Bangladesh Academy of Science, the Bangladesh Association for the Advancement of Science etc. are located in rented house or on borrowed space in other institutions without any facility for meetings, conferences, libraries, audio-visual aids, etc. Because of their dispersal, interaction among them or with the scientific community is very difficult. A Science Centre Building should be built in Dacca as early as possible to facilitate inter communication between various groups and individuals. The Science Building should accommodate the National Science Library and other facilities for dissemination of information and transfer of technology. It should also act as the National Headquarters for popularisation and promotion of science through publications, mass-media materials, exhibitions, etc.

In the end, on behalf of the Bangladesh Association for the Advancement of Science (BAAS) and myself, I offer you once again, Sir, our sincere thanks for your kindness in inaugurating the Third Annual Bangladesh Science Conference. We are most grateful for this favour and trust that connection between you and BAAS will continue and grow stronger with time.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, I tender an apology for this lengthy address, and trust that your deliberations in the Conference will be fruitful. Bangladesh Zindabad at a ver