This year, farmers are in the spotlight because they did not get enough money for their production. The news created widespread anger and frustration among the masses. The government came forward to solve the problem, but they seem helpless.
On the other hand, students have come forward to help the farmers in their lands, which was commendable. It shows the eagerness of the young people to reach out to the community to solve their problems.
In many countries in the West, students do odd jobs to gain experience and earn money. I saw them working when I visited Canada last summer. There was no snow and the big fields were covered with strawberries, raspberries, green peas, etc.
The farms were owned by the farmers and their families. As a visitor, we could pluck the berries and peas, and gather them in a basket. They charged us for them but it was very nominal. It was a great experience indeed to learn about farming.
We can also do this in our country.
The lesson that we should learn from the farmers in our country is very significant. They seldom protest for their grievances or rights being ignored. They are the silent heroes who work day long but are not rewarded.
We should prioritize farming as much as we can. It can, in the long term, create job opportunities as well and also give us a rich dividend.
Developing our farming industry is very important for the environment too. The extremely hot weather in Bangladesh, and also in the large areas of the sub-continent, tells us how global warming is already affecting our lives.
People from all walks of life are waiting for the monsoon rain to come so that they can breathe a sigh of relief. But there is no respite. Aren’t we responsible for this condition?
As a species, we are moving forward. We are gaining more and more control over many elements of nature, but we are constantly facing the fury of nature at different places of this planet.
For instance, droughts, extreme cold or heat, cyclones, floods, etc have taken away peace of mind. The way we are destroying mother nature, it is obvious we have to withstand its wrath in different forms at different places.
However, many small changes in our lifestyle and daily routine can pave the way to a greener life. First, we can reduce the use of plastics significantly.
The ideas mentioned here may sound straight from old school giving the tendency of people buying plastic furniture to cookware. For instance, using boxes of stainless steel to carry food, having foods not with plastic cutlery can be a great start.
For the beverage industry, avoiding straws is highly recommended. Additionally, a coffee culture is also beaming up in the city. With it, the use of plastic cups and mugs is increasing day by day, which is another threat to the environment. These plastic wastes are polluting the environment alarmingly. We should come to sense.
We should go back to our old habit of using glassware or any other type of bio-degradable things. It is high time we shunned plastic goods in our day-to-day life.
To add here, we can reintroduce the use of jute products in our homes. For example, jute bags can easily replace plastic bags which we use randomly.
Moreover, jute represents our own cultural heritage. It is very eco-friendly too.
Because of negligence, we are losing valuable forests. The Sundarbans has been under threat. But this has failed to draw the attention of most people. However, in the recent time, many organizations are campaigning for tree plantation drives. But it is not enough. They can also work with waste.
Moreover, “Clean Bangladesh” drives should be carried out from time to time. The workers who will work under such projects should be paid too. These projects need to be well monitored.
The UN will hold a climate change summit in September in New York, where ways and means will be discussed how best we can face challenges as a result of environmental pollution.
This time various organization who work on the environment have emphasized on the slogan “plans, not speeches.” So we look forward to this summit where the leaders will come together with the initiatives that will be effective to save the world from further loss.
Anika Tasneem is a freelance contributor.
