Though economy of Bangladesh depends on agriculture; the RMG sector acts as the backbone of our economy. The cheapest labour is the most influential factor to grow the RMG industries rapidly. But we have huge opportunity to enter into the agriculture based markets abroad. We have enough manpower to work with agriculture and they are working now. To gain higher benefits, many farmers use modern agriculture-based harmful chemicals to produce more food and use preservatives to sell the same after a long time.

Some are avoiding the modern agricultural farming. They don’t know how to use additives, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, hormones, radiation, genetic manipulation and synthetic chemicals, preservatives and synthetic food enhancers. Often we wrongly think that agricultural products mean which are produced in the field only like rice, wheat, jute, etc. We should know that not only those but fish and poultry are agricultural products also. Bangladesh is one of the largest fish producers in the world. At present, most of the fishes are produced in the modern fish farms in Bangladesh.

A few years ago, farmers produced their fish organically without knowing differences between organic and inorganic but production quantity was very low. They have moved towards the modern farming to higher production and higher benefit. All are success in the profit perceptions but products of these modern agricultural farms are very harmful to our health due to use of harmful chemicals and others. If we recall the time of our grandfathers and earlier generations we would find that they didn’t know about the chemical and fertilizer use to produce crops. Then there was no need to know about the meaning of the organic and the inorganic. They have enjoyed healthy life. There was no health hazard like us.
At present, we have enough logistic supports like doctors, hospitals, modern diagnosis system, developed communication, etc. Also we are wealthy but we aren’t healthy. Among the main reasons of this type of health hazards is using chemicals to produce food products. Food related health problems have been increasing day by day. To avoid these health hazards, consumers want to eat fresh food produced without using harmful chemical of modern agricultural farming.

The concept of organic food came as an alternative food system to avoid health hazards. Modern agricultural practices that are destructive of the environment through widespread use harmful chemicals has caused in drastic environmental damages in many parts of the world. This is a sustainable choice for the future comparing modern agricultural practices.

Due to effect in human health and natural environment, organic food has become very popular in developed countries as they are more health aware than developing and less developed countries. As a developing country, consumers of Bangladesh are not conscious about their food, food values, nutrition values, hygienic, qualities, toxicities and environmental effect, etc of food. Due to ignorance, the farmers are using destructive chemicals producing crops, vegetables, fruits, cultivation of fish and poultry. As a result, we have lost our soil health, crop's health, public health, fisheries and environment, etc. The top five countries with the most organic food producers are India, Uganda, Mexico, Philippines and Tanzania but largest markets of the same are USA, Germany, France, Canada and UK.

Lifestyle is the influential factor of health awareness. We observed that citizens of developed countries are more aware about their health. Less developed and developing countries can take the chance to earn remittance from developed countries as well as citizens of those countries can enjoy healthy life to eat self-produced organic food at minimum cost.

On a small scale some enterprises have been established to produce organic foods, but, in Bangladesh. We have to know that organic agriculture, a worldwide growth industry, can be a profitable, sustainable business for agricultural producers interested in going through the certification process necessary to enter this market. In this context, Bangladesh Organic Food Products Association, established in 2012 is to promote and control this sector in Bangladesh. Bangladeshi agricultural researchers contribute to the world agricultural system living abroad.

They are famous to their creative thinking. Government should provide support to the related researchers to encourage research in Bangladesh about this sector by providing scholarship and others. The relevant departments of government can take necessary steps to train the farmers to produce organic food for health safety as well as earn foreign exchange by exporting the products. As Bangladesh is one of the largest fish producers, if our farmers cultivate their fish in their pond organically as per instructions of agricultural researchers, it would contribute to our overall health. Bangladesh may be one of the largest organic fish producers in the world. Apart from this, large quantities of eggs and poultry meats are produced in our country using modern agricultural farming.

Farmers of these kinds of products may produce organic eggs and poultry meats using organic poultry feed also. If farmers start their farming organically, it is possible to produce organic feed by feed mills in Bangladesh. Other than fish and poultry sectors, field-based farmers have huge opportunity to produce organic food. We can wrongly think that they have to go back to the old generations. Actually, it’s not right. Field-based farmers may use in their field many kinds of organic fertilizers. We know that virgin area may be required to produce all kind of organic products. (Also Published in the Daily Independent 29/10/2016)