Agriculture in Bangladesh
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
ATM Shawkat Hossain
AGRICULTURE employs 63.3 per cent of the country's labour force and accounts for 21.11 per cent of GDP. Of its total population, 80 per cent depends on agriculture for their livelihood directly or indirectly. Importance of agriculture in the Bangladesh economy is undeniable. But feeding the growing population remains a challenge as cultivation methods are still primitive. However, high yielding seeds, irrigation, and the use of fertilisers have led to a more than two-fold increase in domestic food crop production in three decades. Bangladesh achieved near sufficiency in food output in 2000. The use of power tiller, instead of bullocks has made cropping easier than before. And our, fertile land enables the farmer to grow crops with relative ease, though regular flooding does hurt crops it also increases soil fertility. But arable land is shrinking every year due to erosion, industrialisation, urbanisation, infrastructure development and settlement of an ever growing population. With over 160 million people on 1,34,000 square kilometers of Bangladesh it is today the world's most densely populated country, and it is set to double in 40 years.
Each farmer in Bangladesh has no more than 1.50 acres of cultivable land and the country has to import rice, wheat, pulses, cooking oil, sugar and other farm products to meet the annual shortfall, draining valuable foreign exchange. Boosting crop output is the only option for Bangladesh to stop the costly imports. Small and marginal farmers as well as share-croppers, who are denied access to credit, should get it easily if Bangladesh is keen to increase crop output. Rent-seeking activities of middlemen in marketing inputs as well as crops must be stopped to encourage the farmer, who alone can increase crop productivity. Efficient and fair marketing of inputs has to be ensured so that the farmers can buy seeds, fertilisers and pesticides in time, at fair prices and without hassles. Irregularities by dealers should invite prompt action. The government should act as facilitator to ensure smooth and timely delivery of inputs.
Fertile districts like Sherpur, Naogaon, Kushtia, Dinajpur, Rajshahi, Bogra, Khulna, Jessore, Faridpur and Comilla, known as the granaries of Bangladesh, should get support from the government in the interest of national food security. No encroachment on cultivable land should be allowed in these districts for industrialisation, infrastructure development or fresh human settlement. The farmers there should be given special incentive to increase crop output. Roads should be built only to support farming and crop marketing. The government should provide productive support to these districts, comparable to or even better than the export processing zones. The poor farmers should be provided with easy access to healthcare facilities which they are denied.
The three Hill Tract districts, with untapped potentials should also be brought under extensive development plan. Such areas should be treated as special production zones for fruits and timber production. Fruit processing would add value to output and development of tourism could also be a good earning source. In addition, soybean cultivation on sandy river banks could reduce dependence on imported cooking oil. Agriculture should get top priority in the annual budget of the government.
AGRICULTURE employs 63.3 per cent of the country's labour force and accounts for 21.11 per cent of GDP. Of its total population, 80 per cent depends on agriculture for their livelihood directly or indirectly. Importance of agriculture in the Bangladesh economy is undeniable. But feeding the growing population remains a challenge as cultivation methods are still primitive. However, high yielding seeds, irrigation, and the use of fertilisers have led to a more than two-fold increase in domestic food crop production in three decades. Bangladesh achieved near sufficiency in food output in 2000. The use of power tiller, instead of bullocks has made cropping easier than before. And our, fertile land enables the farmer to grow crops with relative ease, though regular flooding does hurt crops it also increases soil fertility. But arable land is shrinking every year due to erosion, industrialisation, urbanisation, infrastructure development and settlement of an ever growing population. With over 160 million people on 1,34,000 square kilometers of Bangladesh it is today the world's most densely populated country, and it is set to double in 40 years.
Each farmer in Bangladesh has no more than 1.50 acres of cultivable land and the country has to import rice, wheat, pulses, cooking oil, sugar and other farm products to meet the annual shortfall, draining valuable foreign exchange. Boosting crop output is the only option for Bangladesh to stop the costly imports. Small and marginal farmers as well as share-croppers, who are denied access to credit, should get it easily if Bangladesh is keen to increase crop output. Rent-seeking activities of middlemen in marketing inputs as well as crops must be stopped to encourage the farmer, who alone can increase crop productivity. Efficient and fair marketing of inputs has to be ensured so that the farmers can buy seeds, fertilisers and pesticides in time, at fair prices and without hassles. Irregularities by dealers should invite prompt action. The government should act as facilitator to ensure smooth and timely delivery of inputs.
Fertile districts like Sherpur, Naogaon, Kushtia, Dinajpur, Rajshahi, Bogra, Khulna, Jessore, Faridpur and Comilla, known as the granaries of Bangladesh, should get support from the government in the interest of national food security. No encroachment on cultivable land should be allowed in these districts for industrialisation, infrastructure development or fresh human settlement. The farmers there should be given special incentive to increase crop output. Roads should be built only to support farming and crop marketing. The government should provide productive support to these districts, comparable to or even better than the export processing zones. The poor farmers should be provided with easy access to healthcare facilities which they are denied.
The three Hill Tract districts, with untapped potentials should also be brought under extensive development plan. Such areas should be treated as special production zones for fruits and timber production. Fruit processing would add value to output and development of tourism could also be a good earning source. In addition, soybean cultivation on sandy river banks could reduce dependence on imported cooking oil. Agriculture should get top priority in the annual budget of the government.