A World Bank (WB) report entitled "Dynamics of Rural Growth in Bangladesh: Sustaining Poverty Reduction" said despite being one of the most vulnerable sectors to climate shocks, Bangladesh's agriculture has been playing a leading role in reducing poverty since 2000. The report said extensive irrigation, high-yielding varieties, more efficient markets, and mechanisation, all backed by policy reforms and investments in agriculture research, human capital, and infrastructure development, have driven the growth in the sector.
The report was launched at a workshop at the Centre on Integrated Rural Development for Asia and the Pacific (CIRDAP) International Conference Centre in Dhaka on May 17 last. According to the report, Bangladesh's pro-poor agricultural growth has stimulated its non-farm economy. It estimates that a 10 per cent rise in farm income generates a 6.0 per cent rise in non-farm income. Stating that non-farm activities are not progressing sufficiently, the report said a balanced development strategy should be developed for both farm and non-farm growth.
According to the WB report, today the largest share of public expenditure on agriculture goes to subsidies. Almost half the farmers overuse fertilisers. An excessive amount of chemical fertilisers is creating environmental and health hazards. Stressing the need for more rapid diversification in agriculture with balanced attention to rice, it said Bangladesh now needs to shift towards high-value agriculture, including horticulture, livestock, and fisheries as well as greater value addition to improve farmers' income and household nutrition.
The Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister was present at the programme as the chief guest while Madhur Gautam, the WB's lead economist, presented the report. The World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal Qimiao Fan, its Practice Manager (Agriculture) Martien van Nieuwkoop and WB Director (Agriculture Global Practice) Ethel Sennahauser, among others, delivered their views at the programme. Presenting the report, Gautam said, "The evidence clearly demonstrates the pro-poor and catalytic nature of agricultural growth which has been a leading contributor to poverty reduction in Bangladesh since 2000. But, the remarkable transformation, and unprecedented dynamism in rural Bangladesh are an unexplored, unappreciated, and largely untold story".
Mentioning that the market operates smoothly in Bangladesh, Gautam said the country now needs upgraded market facilities, increased investments in roads to connect secondary cities, improved rural logistics and access to finance to move to the next level, with more modern and efficient supply chains. Gautam added: "These improvements will help increase income and productivity, and they are especially important in view of Bangladesh's transition to a more modern food system involving high-value products and greater value addition".
The Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister said: "I feel agriculture will continue to play a vital role in Bangladesh's rural economy, but given the reality of a limited scope of expanding productive land, the further thrust has to be in the rural non-farm sector". The minister further said, "We need to sharpen our understanding of why the progress of the non-farm activities has remained limited, though the majority of rural households engaged in non-farm, activities". He said it is necessary to take some policies and actions to facilitate accelerated growth of the rural non-farm sector.
Qimiao Fan said Bangladesh raised agricultural productivity significantly in the last few decades, though it has faced adverse impacts of climate change and natural disasters like tropical storms. He noted, "It's remarkable that with so many people and so little arable land, the country has been able to provide sufficient food for almost everyone". He said Bangladesh is widely recognised for its progress in human development, but its achievements in agriculture remain little known.
It is mentionable in this context that the country's northern region has experienced super bumper wheat production in Rangpur division. The farmers have achieved an all-time super bumper wheat production in all five districts under the Rangpur agriculture region this season breaking all previous records. According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources, the farmers have produced over 102 thousand tonnes of wheat, higher by 29,490 tonnes or 40.48 per cent than the fixed target of producing 72,841 tonnes this time.
Horticulture specialists said bumper wheat production was achieved following expanded cultivation of high yielding wheat varieties using quality seed and latest conservation agriculture (CA)-based technologies. Wheat farming has become very popular and more profitable among farmers as they achieved repeated bumper productions with lucrative prices in recent years and exceeded the fixed cultivation target this season in Rangpur region. Earlier, wheat production was affected due to adverse impacts of high temperature, use of low quality local variety seeds and other reasons.
However, the farmers now have been sowing high quality, disease-resistant and stress-tolerant varieties of wheat seeds timely using the latest, mechanised and low-cost technologies after harvesting short-duration Aman rice to get bumper production. The internationally reputed agriculture scientists also suggested expanded cultivation of less irrigation water-consuming cereal crops like wheat and maize adopting the latest CA-based technologies at reduced costs to ensure food security and alleviate poverty amid the ensuing impacts of climate change.
On the other hand, mango growers in Naogaon and Chapainawabganj in the Rajshahi region are optimistic about getting bumper production - more than 10 tonnes coming from per hectare of over 20,000 hectares of land cultivated - of the money spinning summer fruit every year, if appropriate measures are taken in time. Exports of mangoes from these two districts apart from other parts of the north-western region of the country fetch a substantial amount of foreign currency after meeting the domestic demand. However, the growers and traders fear low price of this horticultural product, mango, due to lack of proper preservation facilities and system.
Apart from this the mango growers are in apprehension of unfair prices due to manipulation by local syndicates of middlemen. Moreover, sources opine that the mango growers have been affected personally for want of publicity, preservation and processing facilities which might cause economic losses to the growers as well as the country. Tens of thousands of people are engaged in this trade all over the country for livelihood and to get rid of poverty. In addition, of late, mango is being commercially cultivated in the hilly Bandarban and Khagrachhari districts of south-eastern Bangladesh also.
In the fisheries sector, fish production in Kaptai Lake breaks all records. Fish production in the Kaptai Lake has remarkably increased in the current fiscal year, 2015-2016, by breaking all records of the past 40 years since its inception in 1965-1966. A water body of 725 square kilometres, the biggest artificial lake in south-east Asia has been created for implementing Kaptai Hydroelectric Power Project in Kaptai Upazila of the district in 1960.
According to information disclosed by the Bangladesh Fisheries Development Corporation (BFDC) in the Kaptai Upazila town, a total of 9,588.55 tonnes of different species of fishes have been available from the lake in the current fiscal year, and the collected amount of government revenue is Tk 105.45 million. Some 8,644.80 tonnes of fishes were available in the previous fiscal year and the amount of revenue earned was more than Tk 90 million.
Fish production was merely 1,206.63 tonnes in the fiscal year 1965-1966 when fish cultivation was launched on a commercial basis in the lake and revenue income was only Tk 200 thousand. After creation of the Kaptai Lake it was handed over to BFDC authority for production of fishes commercially. Some 42 species of fishes including Ruhi, Katla, Mrigel, Kali Baus, Telapia, Chapila and Keski are produced in the lake. The Kaptai Lake among others is famous for production of sweet water fishes in the country.
The BFDC claimed that it took massive steps to boost fish production in 2013. Its target to release fish fry in the Kaptai Lake is 20 to 25 tonnes to boost fish production in the coming year. The BFDC, however, said that the quantity of carp fish production was declining day by day in the lake. It said that water pollution in the lake is taking an alarming turn hampering fish production. It must be stopped immediately. Dredging at some points in the lake where the mother fishes lay eggs - breeding grounds - is necessary to restore the old fish breeding grounds.
Similarly, the other sub-sectors of Bangladesh agriculture are contributing to the poverty alleviation of the country, even though they are less highlighted in comparison with the contribution of the non-traditional sectors like the readymade garment (RMG) and manpower export sectors. There is no denying the fact that apart from providing food and employment for the country's people agriculture as a whole is still the dominating sector of Bangladesh economy and in multifarious ways it still remains in the driving seat of Bangladesh's economic development and poverty reduction.
The writer is a retired Professor of Economics, BCS General Education Cadre. Email: [email protected]
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