That the projection for Bangladesh's gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the fiscal year 2022-23 was scaled down by both the International Monetary Fund and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is understandable. The IMF lowered it from its original 6.5 per cent to 6.0 per cent and the ADB from 6.5 per cent to 6.2 per cent. But belying those projections the GDP growth ultimately slipped to 5.78 per cent, by the final reckoning of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). The rate could dip still further but for the appreciable performance by the country's agriculture sector contrary to the decline in contribution by the economy's two main driving engines. Service sector with a share of 51 per cent and manufacturing sector with a share of 37.7 per cent in the economy, have faltered in the immediate past financial year.
Sure enough, Bangladesh with its limited geographic space cannot compete with the two larger sectors either in GDP contribution or earning foreign exchange. But yet it serves as an anchor to the country's economic prosperity. How? This is quite simple: first, if the country produces the staples to meet its own requirement, it can act as the platform for the country's industry and service sector to launch programmes suitable for it. Second, the resourcefulness and adaptability farmers here have demonstrated so far have been responsible for the agriculture ministry to carry forward its innovative and technology-based agricultural programmes to a new level. Third, there has been a kind of crop revolution thanks to the agriculture scientists who have tirelessly developed not only rice varieties but also introduced exotic crops and fruits through cross-breeding, mutation and genomic selection. The Germplasm Centre at the Bangladesh Agriculture University (BAU) alone has released as many as 70 varieties of fruits by this time. Unsurprisingly, farmers in some areas have opted for cultivation of cash crops including flowers instead of paddy.
Such efforts lead to the diversification of agriculture and consequently export of both agricultural produce and products has been growing over the past few years. But due to some institutional and infrastructural constraints, the export of agricultural goods could not reach the optimal level. Now that the government has made a crucial decision to set up a national quarantine authority, a prerequisite for compliance with the World Trade Organisation's (WTO's) Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement, the move will help boost this particular trade. But this has to be complemented with the advanced system of packaging, cooling facility in transports for reaping the full benefits.
Farmers and agricultural scientists together have done a commendable job but unfortunately the fruits of their labour are eaten up by coteries who serve as middlemen in between source of production and marketing. Particularly, farmers are the most deprived lot in this country. If the ministry of agriculture is serious enough, it can eliminate the middlemen from the marketing process by entering into sustainable agreements with the Bangladesh Road Transport Corporation (BRTC) for it to take up the responsibility of transportation of at least the perishable agricultural produce from crop field to urban markets. The BRTC has entered into similar agreements with other ministries and departments to maximise its profit by deploying its pool of trucks for transportation of their goods. Both BRTC and farmers will derive mutual benefits from such a move.
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