With negligible scope for area expansion, as most of the arable lands of Bangladesh are already under cultivation, future growth will have to continue to rely on raising productivity per unit of land. For this reason, continuous efforts are being made towards developing new improved seed varieties. It is also felt that the agricultural sector has by no means exploited its full potential for crop production and that there are various opportunities for substantially increasing cropping intensities. Currently only 40 percent of the potential irrigated area is covered by modern varieties and, most important, there are wide gaps between the potential and the realized yields for all crops in the country.
Narrowing gaps between actual and potential yields, however, is easier said than done, for there are various underlying issues and constraints in terms of productivity that are beyond the bounds of technology and another green revolution. To think that the growth of crop production and the goal of self-sufficiency depend almost entirely on technological progress is not only deceiving but also detrimental to the long-term sustainable development of the country. Aside from the fact that Bangladesh is prone to frequent natural disasters, there are significant factors, both institutional and socio-economic, that play a part in determining the productivity of the agricultural sector and food security situation in the country. These include:
Landownership
Environmental degradation
Crop diversification
Social and physical infrastructure and support services
FOOD SECURITY
Towards self-sufficiency
Bangladesh became a perennially food-deficit country in the late 1950s when population pressures began to take their toll. Threats of mass starvation have been felt several times since independence owing to droughts and flooding, but a famine of significant proportion only struck the country in 1974 when world food production fell to an all-time low and world food prices rose sharply. At that time, there was insufficient food aid and the country did not have enough foreign exchange resources to buy all the grain it needed in the world market. With subsequent increase in food aid allotments from donors and the government's import programs and increased capacity to finance food imports, the days of severe famine were put to an end. However the majority of the rural populations are still afflicted by malnutrition and semi-starvation. In fact, a downward trend in the daily per caput intake of cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits and meat can be seen over the last few decades in rural areas as well as at a national level. For example, rice intake in rural Bangladesh in 1995/96 was 427 g per caput. In 1981/ 82, 1975/76 and 1962-64, the levels of intake were 451, 493 and 505 g, respectively.
Bangladesh's dependence on food imports and, in particular, food aid throughout the years has been cause for concern. Food imports in Bangladesh currently represent approximately 18 percent of total imports and absorb 34 percent of total export earnings. In 1990/91, food aid represented 98 percent of total food imports but this has been reduced considerably to representing 30 percent of total food imports in 1995/96. The significant difference has essentially been made up by private sector imports which began in 1992/93.
The overriding objective of all agricultural policy and development since independence in Bangladesh has been to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains and, in particular, rice production. In reality, what has actually been sought is a substantial acceleration in the growth rate of domestic food production and a decreased dependence on or elimination of food aid in the long term. The emphasis on accelerating food production in Bangladesh stems from the country's excessive dependence on food imports, its precarious external account situation and its perceived comparative advantage in food production. Bangladesh has excellent soils, rechargeable aquifers that are easily tapped for irrigation, an abundance of low-cost labor in its rural areas and a climate that allows crops to be grown the year round.
Source: SOFA 1997
The role of rice
With the availability of high-yielding varieties (HYVs), rice has contributed significantly to the progress towards self-sufficiency. Despite the significant inroads wheat has made in the Bangladeshi diet, rice has been and continues to be the favored food grain in the country and constitutes 95% of the cereals consumed. Rice cultivation is the major source of livelihood for the large majority of farmers of Bangladesh and it accounts for more than 74 percent of cultivated area, 83 percent of all irrigated area and 88 percent of the total fertilizer consumption in the country. In a social, political and economic context, rice is a significant crop in Bangladesh; it dominates all other economic activities and consumes a considerable amount of foreign exchange.
Source: SOFA 1997
Foodgrain production
Although Bangladesh continues to be a net importer of food, importing on average 1.5 million tonnes of rice annually, it has achieved substantial gains in food grain production during the last two decades. From 1969/70 to 1992/93, the cropping intensity increased significantly with food grain production almost doubling. In the crop years from 1989/90 to 1992/93, Bangladesh produced bumper harvests of food grains, with a record production in 1992/93 of 19.5 million tonnes (much higher than the average of 16.4 million tonnes during 1985-89).
In 1993/94 and 1994/95, food grain production declined, as a result of droughts and floods as well as the farmers' response to the fall in the price of rice from the bumper harvest of the previous year. This was evidenced by more than a 2 percent reduction in the area sown, a decline in irrigation demand and more than a 4 percent decline in fertilizer consumption.
The country faced one of its largest food grain shortfalls ever in 1994/95, owing in part to a severe fertilizer crisis and leading to a resurgence of large food imports and high cereal prices. This situation continued until April 1996 when good boro (dry season) harvest prospects started to dampen the market.
Source: SOFA 1997
Current state of the agricultural sector
The recent trend in food grain production has not been positive. The agricultural sector is now confronted with low and stagnating yields of most crops, including rice, and the food gap between domestic production and demand has actually widened. In spite of the fact that rice production has increased at a higher rate than the rate of population growth during the last decade, and despite the fact that there are both public and private imports each year, the daily per caput food availability of food grains in Bangladesh has not reached the standard food grain requirement or target consumption level of 454 g since 1991/92. Given that food availability is not equally distributed, it is clear that the situation is worse for the poor than these figures would lead one to believe.
Source: SOFA 1997
Food preferences
HYV Rice and non-cereal crops
Over the past two decades the principal sources of growth came predominantly from boro rice, followed by aman (wet season) rice and, to a small extent, wheat. The success in accelerating rice production in the 1980s can be attributed almost entirely to the conversion of local varieties to modern HYVs and, as a result of changes in the policy environment, the adoption of irrigation and fertilizer technologies, which has enabled intensive use of the boro months.
As a result of the heavy emphasis on rice production, yields of other non-cereal crops such as pulses, potatoes, oilseeds and vegetables have stagnated. Land used previously for pulses has been converted for rice production. There have been modest increases in the yields of local rice but the average local yields have been 50 percent of those of the HYV rice. However, of late, it is the yield of modern varieties that is showing signs of stagnation.
Source: SOFA 1997
Food preferences
People from different areas, with varying customs, have different food preferences and some examples are:
Irish potatoes have been accepted as part of the staple diet in some areas: Comilla and Munshiganj prefer white while Bogra prefer red skinned varieties.
Indigenous potato varieties, such as Indurkani, are highly priced and popular with the elite families.
Sweet potatoes are consumed as staple food in some of the char (river bank) areas such as Comilla and Narshingdi.
Lentils are widely consumed throughout Bangladesh, while cowpeas are predominantly eaten in the greater Chittagong district.
Chickpeas are used in the preparation of commercial foodstuffs and there is a high consumption of them during Ramadan.
There are many different pulses and they are viewed differently by various sections of the community: lathyrus (kheshari) is eaten widely whereas mungbean is served on special occasions by the elite.
Source: Field 1995
Table of Contents
• Role of Agriculture in Bangladesh Economy
• Basic Information of Agriculture in Bangladesh
• Opportunities & Constraints of Agriculture in Bangladesh
• Objectives & Functions of the Ministry of Agriculture
• Organogram of the Ministry of Agriculture
• Agriculture Extension System in Bangladesh
• Agriculture Research System in Bangladesh
• Review of the Past Agro Sector Policy Reforms
Role of Agriculture in Bangladesh Economy
The economy of Bangladesh is primarily dependent on agriculture. About 84 percent of the total population live in rural areas and are directly or indirectly engaged in a wide range of agricultural activities. The agriculture sector plays a very important role in the economy of the country accounting for 31.6 percent of total GDP in 1997-98 at constant (1984-85) prices. The agriculture sector comprises crops, forests, fisheries and livestock. Of the agricultural GDP, the crop sub-sector contributes 71 per cent, forest 10 per cent, fisheries 10 percent and livestock 9 per cent. The sector generates 63.2% percent of total national employment, of which crop sectors share is nearly 55 %. Agricultural exports of primary products constituted 10.4% of total exports of the country in 1997-98. In the past decade, the agriculture sector contributed about three percent per annum to the annual economic growth rate.
The agriculture sector is the single largest contributor to income and employment generation and a vital element in the country’s challenge to achieve self-sufficiency in food production reduce rural poverty and foster sustainable economic development. The Government has therefore accorded highest priority to this sector to enable the country to meet these challenges and to make this sector commercially profitable.
Basic Information on Agriculture of Bangladesh
1. Area of Bangladesh
147570sq.km
2. Total population (January 1999)
128.1 million
3. GDP (1998-99)
755.73 billion Tk.
4. GDP Growth rate (1998-99)
5.2%
5. Agricultural Growth rate (1998-99)
5.0%
6. No. of Rural Household
17.83 million
7. No. of non-Farm Household
6.03 million
8. No. of Farm Household
11.80 million
9. No. of Agril. Labor Household
6.40 million
10. Small Household
80% (9.42 million)
11. Medium Household
17.50% (2.08) million)
12. Large Household
2.50% (0.3 million)
13. Cultivated Area
17.77 million acres
14. Cultivated Area per Household
1.5 acres
15. Cropping Intensity (1996-97)
174%
16. Irrigation Area
8.59 million acres
Source: Statistical Year Book of Bangladesh, 98, BBS.
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