As Long as Hunger Exists, Agricultural Research Must Continue

As long as hunger exists, agricultural research must continue. Hunger is not only the absence of food; it also means insecurity, poor nutrition, loss of dignity, lack of income and loss of hope. Agriculture fights hunger, and research keeps that fight alive.
Bangladesh understands this well. At independence, it was food-deficit, disaster-prone, and constrained by limited land, weak irrigation, and low adoption of modern crop varieties. Yet, within five decades, the country became largely self-sufficient in rice. This success came through farmers’ hard work, public investment, irrigation expansion, fertiliser use, extension support, and, above all, agricultural research.
Rice research helped Bangladesh develop varieties suitable for different seasons. Other crops such as wheat, maize, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, jute, sugarcane and spices also benefited from national research efforts. Scientists developed crop varieties tolerant to drought, flood, salinity, submergence, cold, pests and diseases. Agronomists improved crop management, soil scientists refined fertiliser use, plant breeders developed shorter-duration and higher-yielding varieties, and research on irrigation and mechanisation reduced farmers’ labour burden. Without these advances, Bangladesh could not have fed more than 170 million people from a shrinking land base.
Yet the task is far from finished. Food security is not a settled achievement; it is a moving target. Every year, Bangladesh must feed more people with less cultivable land, less water, more uncertain weather, and higher production costs. Urbanisation, industrial growth and infrastructure development are reducing farmland, while farmers face rising input prices, labour shortages, declining soil fertility and increasingly unpredictable climate conditions.
Climate change is making floods, droughts and storms more unpredictable. Therefore, the question is no longer whether agricultural research was useful in the past. The real question is whether Bangladesh can survive the future without stronger agricultural research. The answer is clearly no.
Agricultural research must now move beyond producing more crops. In the past, the main question was how to grow more rice. That question remains important, but it is not enough. Today we must ask how to produce nutritious food with less water, less pollution, less soil damage and better income for farmers. This is where modern research becomes essential. Bangladesh needs climate-resilient rice, water-saving irrigation, balanced fertiliser use, farm mechanisation, improved livestock, safe aquaculture and better post-harvest technologies.
The recent debate on excessive and unbalanced fertiliser use reminds us that research must reach farmers in a practical way. Bangladesh already has scientific fertiliser recommendations, but many farmers still rely on habit, neighbour advice, or dealer suggestions. The solution is not to blame farmers but to make soil- and crop-based advice easily available. Balanced nutrient use, better soil management, and simple extension messages can protect both yield and soil health.
Nutrition must also be central to agricultural research. A nation cannot remain healthy by rice alone. Rice provides energy, but people also need protein, oils, vitamins, minerals, and dietary diversity. Research on pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, eggs, and fish is therefore essential. Hidden hunger caused by micronutrient deficiency can weaken children, women, and working people even when calorie intake is sufficient. Nutrient-rich crops, safe vegetables, diversified farming, and nutrition-sensitive agriculture deserve greater research attention.
Farmers must remain at the centre of this process. Research is useful only when it reaches the field. A crop variety kept in a research station cannot feed people. A fertiliser recommendation printed in a book cannot improve soil unless farmers understand and apply it. A water-saving technology cannot reduce groundwater pressure unless pump owners and farmer groups accept it. Therefore, stronger links among research, extension, the private sector, and farmers are essential. Demonstration plots, farmer field schools, mobile apps, television programmes, community radio, local-language leaflets, and trained input dealers can help turn science into practice.
Recent budget discussions show growing attention to agricultural research, but the allocation must be judged against future challenges. Bangladesh should not compare its research spending only with its past; it should also compare it fairly with neighbouring countries investing in agricultural innovation, biotechnology, climate resilience, mechanisation, and digital farming. A food-secure country needs a research budget that is strategic, not symbolic. At the same time, budget alone is not enough. Funds must be used properly through priority-based projects, timely release of money, transparent procurement, competent leadership, field-orientated research, and measurable results.
Bangladesh also needs a new generation of agricultural scientists. Many senior scientists who led the Green Revolution have already retired or are nearing retirement. Young researchers must be trained in plant breeding, biotechnology, soil science, water management, climate modelling, artificial intelligence, farm mechanisation, livestock systems, fisheries, nutrition, and agricultural economics. Modern agriculture is no longer limited to field experiments; it also includes remote sensing, data science, digital soil mapping, gene editing, carbon accounting, market intelligence, and policy analysis. The best research solves real field problems, such as coastal salinity, drought in the Barind, flash floods in the haor, flood-prone plains, soil acidity in terrace lands, labour shortage in Boro rice, pest outbreaks in vegetables, feed shortages in livestock and disease risks in aquaculture. Every fragile ecosystem in Bangladesh needs targeted research.
The world is changing fast. War, trade restrictions, climate shocks and price instability can disrupt food supply at any time. And hunger has changed its form, but not disappeared. It now appears as high food prices, poor diets, exhausted soils, low farmer income and climate-induced crop failure. To face these threats, agricultural research must grow stronger. Bangladesh’s farmers have done their part. Now the nation must invest wisely in research, extension and innovation.

The writer is a fellow at Bangladesh Academy of Agriculture and former Director General of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute