Potential of Urban Agriculture in Bangladesh: A Case Study in Dhaka

Abstract

Urban agriculture describes food cultivation and animal husbandry on urban and peri- urban land. By organizing the concepts and theories available in interrelated literature and highlighting potential areas of inquiry, this thesis aims to define the potential of urban agriculture in the context of dairy farming for a critical geography of urban agriculture. Food production has become the major concern for cities. For this reason, many cities in the developing world are partially self sufficient in food production and trying to invest in food production including keeping livestock and growing fruits and vegetables. Though Bangladesh is an agriculture based country, both of rural and urban agriculture are equally important in Bangladesh. For commercial food production we have no chance in urban agriculture. On the other hand, food, nutrition and climate will not be fulfilled without urban homestead agriculture. Dhaka has been taken as the “study area” for this survey. Selected thanas are Gulshan, Bashabo, Pallabi and Kotowali. A pilot survey has been done for identifying the variation among the thanas. On the basis of some criteria, the author made an effort to describe the crucial points of urban agriculture which may add a new dimension in making Dhaka a model city by bringing environmental and economic prosperity. These are house type, spaces of cultivation like rooftop, corridor, outside the boundary, and the ground. Other criteria are types of 2 cultivation like vegetable, flower or ornamental plants, fruits, birds, pigeon or domestic animal cultivation. There is also brief description of location of these agricultures. That means which spaces are used by the people for agriculture in Dhaka city. The survey found that different forms of agriculture is a hobby for most of the people in three thanas. As it creates the aesthetic beauty of the houses and environment, people become interested to make garden. Now-a-days, the desires for having fresh and chemical free food, people are trying to grow some vegetables and fruits in their house boundary. From the survey, it is observed some controversy about the location of dairy farms in the inner part of the city. Some experts support establishment of dairy farm in the inner city area and some don’t. From the analysis of the survey, it has been found that dairy farms have developed huge economic activities in Dhaka city. As the demand for milk is high in the city area, the importance of dairy farm is also vast. In addition to this, the milk produced from these farms is sold in the inner city area. So, establishment of planned dairy farm is an urgent need to produce sufficient milk and keep the price of milk reasonable. Thus, the survey also comprised the importance of dairy farms in the urban development. Another important aspect of the study was to identify various problems of urban agriculture and collect some suggestions for solving them. Discussions on the residential and environmental problems of the people living in Dhaka city are explained in the research. The survey in the cattle farms shows that farmers have some vital problems in establishing a dairy farm. The most important 3 problem is the owners have to face financial problem frequently. Other problems are water crisis, environmental pollution, surrounding pressure, bad odor, spreading diseases etc. After an in-depth analysis, some good suggestions have been found through this study which enriches the recommendations section. The research found that large scale dairy farming is not possible in city area, but the small scale dairy could be establish by getting permission for the availability of milk in the city. Zoning should be handled properly in this instance. Bio-gas plant and bio-fertilizer are considered to be two potential future prospects for fuel supply and agricultural development in the near future. Thus the present research can play an important role in making urban agriculture planned and efficient in the future.