Introducing innovations: ultimate game changer for Bangladesh agriculture

For Bangladesh, increasing agricultural productivity is undoubtedly of fundamental importance right now because 45 per cent of working age population is still directly employed in agriculture, while another 15 per cent in the non-farm sector which depends on agricultural sector. Boosting agricultural productivity is, therefore, the surest way to enhance their livelihood and lift millions of people out of poverty. This is especially true given how difficult it is to create and sustain the non-farm jobs for people to move to.
In the past, increased agricultural productivity in Bangladesh pulled many millions out of poverty, but significant poverty still remains. Recent reports show that the rate of poverty reduction has slowed down. What is even more worrisome is that even though agricultural productivity has gone up across the world, poverty reduction has slowed down and undernourishment is on the rise in many developing countries, including Bangladesh.
Apart from the climate change in general, the most daunting challenges to agriculture are issues like flood, draught, extreme heat, sudden excessive rains, flash floods, river bank erosion, shrinking arable land, degradation of land fertility, and rise in salinity in particular, is to be addressed in the near future. FAO estimates that a 3-5 per cent decline in average global cereal yields for every 1ºc increase in temperature. This is applicable in general to every place, but for Bangladesh the added problems are degradation of land fertility and shrinking arable land due to urbanisation, industrialisation and riverbank erosion. In addition, the problem of salinity slows agricultural productivity along with the above mentioned problems It is nowhere more important than for Bangladesh.
LAND REFORM FOR AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY: Some view that rising landless population, pattern of marginal landholding, smallholder farming, climate change, lack of knowledge of modern cultivation methods, lack of mechanisation, and input costs are serious impediments to improving agricultural productivity. Therefore, land reform is necessary to transform the farming from smallholders to large-scale commercial farming. Many others say that the very nature of social structure and religion, any gain from any kind of land reform or reallocation of land and labour in favour of larger holding to increase productivity is almost non-existent. Such issues are always controversial anyway. With the availability of new scientific tools to scientists and breeders, productivity in agriculture can come from better agricultural inputs like seeds, which has better yield and traits to suit the consumer preferences and farmers acceptance, and able to withstand the affects of climate change. This is achievable only by investment in agricultural R&D.
AGRICULTURAL R&D: Investment in agricultural R&D can generate and disseminate better inputs and sharper agricultural knowledge. The rate of return for R&D in agriculture is nearly 30-40 per cent higher than many alternative investments. R&D investment, as a share of agri-GDP, is six times higher in developed nations compared to developing ones, while the number of R&D worker is 50 times higher. Unless Bangladesh increases investment and focuses on agri-R&D, apart from correcting its many agri-policy flaws, lifting the next many millions of its poor out of poverty will be much harder than before. In fact, the present economic and social indicators combined with political instability and lack of agricultural productivity, proves beyond any doubt that the stage is set for the poverty to rise, rather than reduction in the future.
Therefore, the government must adapt consistent, science-based policies for plant breeding and agricultural innovations, to help achieve adequate food production and supply, not only for rice but also for all other food crops. This will ensure consistent farmers' income, faster reduction of poverty, improvement in nutrition of a growing population, and sustainable use of natural resources. Production of more food crops with less resources and in a sustainable manner should be the fundamental concern for Bangladesh today. We must recognise that contributions of scientific innovation through breeding are the way to enhance agricultural productivity, improve food security, better nutrition for all, improve farmers' livelihood, reduction in poverty and adapting to climate change. For any endeavour towards increasing agricultural productivity, seed sector is the starting point of the food production and supply system. The seed sector is in the forefront to act as the main actor and can offer science-based solutions to address these challenges. Seed industry is unique because of its primary role in crop production. Providing quality seeds is the critical first step towards solving many challenges. It focuses on the five pillars simultaneously. These include-- breeding to develop new varieties with better traits, quality seed production, processing and treatment, storage and delivery to farmers (marketing) and extension services.
INVESTMENT IN R&D: The seed sector is supposed to invest at least 15 per cent of its turnover in R&D each year. This can ensure the development of quality seeds of improved varieties which are locally adaptable and accessible to farmers. This requires government support. Unfortunately, such supportive policy to assist the seed sector is virtually non-existent. It has, therefore, become an urgent issue to adopt consistent, science-based policies to support the sector for sustainable agriculture, or else, the nation will miss out on the potentials. At this point of time, the regulatory environment, tax system and government policy do not favour private sector in plant breeding. This will inevitably slow down the delivery of the fundamental inputs to farmers in the immediate future. In order to tackle many challenges being faced by agricultural sector including mitigation of effects of climate change and food security, innovation by plant breeders is essential. No matter who says or thinks what, it is for sure that the present strategy and government policy are obstructive for any kind of innovation through research. Therefore, there is a need to build understanding and trust among all stakeholders to develop quality seeds and other inputs. All these should be easily accessible to farmers. Otherwise, farmers will not have the full range of choice and solutions to achieve a sustainable food production.
SEED OR SECTOR AND IMPLEMENTATION OF SDG: The 193 Member States of the United Nations have adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in September 2015 which are the priorities for the world up to 2030. Improving the productivity of smallholder farmers is one of the main targets. Smallholder farmers need to not only produce more food, but also at the same time adapt their agricultural practices with the changing weather conditions caused by climate change. By improving access to quality seeds, seed companies can make a vital contribution by supporting smallholder farmers to overcome the challenge.
Bangladesh's seed sector is fully aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Of the 17 SDGs adopted by the United Nations, the seed sector contributes to or aligned to a majority of these goals; such as-- No poverty; Zero hunger; Good health and wellbeing; Decent work and economic growth; Industry, Innovation, Responsible consumption and production; Climate action for better life and partnership. In one way or the other, agricultural activity and productivity are tied up in achieving these goals.
SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE: Remarkable innovations are needed in the immediate future so that farmers can grow enough food (not only rice) for growing population of Bangladesh, while preserving natural resources for the next generation. We must ensure that our future generation will not suffer because of our action or non-action today. The present generation, like all previous ones, bear the responsibility for the wellbeing of the future generations.
In the future, educated consumers will demand a better and healthy diet having no negative impact on their health and environment. New agricultural innovation should improve the livelihood of smallholder farmers in Bangladesh by providing more access to sustainable agriculture practices and solutions because they are the majority in society. Investment for tomorrow's breakthroughs will require engagement and active collaboration among scientists, innovators, regulators, farmers and consumers (all stakeholders) to build trust, confidence and societal acceptance.
DOMINANCE OF PUBLIC SECTOR: Until recently, most developing countries had agricultural sectors totally dominated by public sector with extensive oversight. State controls often included research, production, marketing, input supply like fertiliser, financial credit (through publicly owned banks), and extension services. In the past decades, there is, however, a growing understanding that public sector dominated agriculture is not sustainable because of budget constraints, mismanagement, politicisation of research institutions and lack of innovation. As population continues to grow, the present system is simply not adequate and will not be able to deliver the level of innovation for agricultural productivity anywhere near the level of requirements. Therefore, to meet the future demand, the approaches to agricultural research, productivity and extension services should be more pluralistic. In fact, many agricultural services including research, supply of inputs and extension services can be delivered more efficiently and effectively by the private sector.
COLLABORATION WITH PRIVATE SECTOR: Major impediments in agricultural productivity in Bangladesh include non-availability of quality inputs like seeds and extension services. For example, the productivity of onion per acre in India is about 7 tons while in Pakistan 6 tons and in Bangladesh it is only 3.66 tons per acre. Onions are cultivated in five hundred thousand acres of land, producing about 18 lakh tons with 3.66 tons per acre. The total demand for onion in Bangladesh is about 30 lakh tons. If productivity can be raised to 6 or 7 tons per acre, then the cultivated land could produce 30 to 35 lakh tons. This means the country can be self-sufficient with onion and would not have to import. Private agro-input retailers are uniquely positioned to address these challenges and support farmers. The success of the input suppliers is directly related and connected to the success of their customers - farmers.
To conclude, there has been a lot of innovation in plant breeding over the past decades, especially precise breeding methods like gene editing, which is revolutionising plant breeding as we know it. To get the best out of such noble scientific advancements, it is critical that government come forward and assist the private seed sector. Public and private universities must work in unison with plant breeders in private and public sectors so that latest tools are available to breeders to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Therefore, we need a policy framework integrating public and private resources to achieve the optimal outcome.
Collective efforts are needed to develop new and innovative solutions to address society's most pressing challenge of agricultural productivity. We need to act now, to solve tomorrow's problem. That is why the country must have the right set of policies to integrate the resources available to make best use of the innovation.

Abdul Awal Mintoo, M.Sc in Agricultural Economics, is a former President of the FBCCI.