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Crop Agriculture of Bangladesh: Challenges and Opportunities

MOHAMMAD H. MONDAL
Director General (Retd.)
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Joydebpur, Gazipur, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Crop agriculture in Bangladesh is constrained every year by challenges, such as a) Loss of Arable Land, b) Population Growth, c) Climate Changes, d) Inadequate Management Practices, e) Unfair Price of Produces, and f) Insufficient Investment in Research. In Bangladesh, about 80,000 ha of arable land are going out of production every year. The loss is alarming and needs to be addressed immediately. The land use policy of the government should be updated and implemented immediately to stop further loss of arable land. Another problem to agriculture is the increase in the growth of population. The twin problem of arable land loss and population growth needs to be addressed simultaneously to ensure sustainable crop production. Country’s crop production is also affected frequently by flood, drought, and salinity. Varieties/technologies tolerant to these natural hazards need to be developed. Renewable energy, reduction in the use of fossil fuels, and afforestation are recommended to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change. To sustain crop production, chemical fertilizers must be integrated with organic manure and costly non-urea fertilizers should continue to be subsidized. Incidence of pests and diseases has lately become severe due to climate change impacts. Therefore, more varieties resistant to the pests should be evolved. Small and marginal farmers of Bangladesh have limited access to institutional credit. They are not eligible for microcredit of NGOs either. Establishment of a new institution/foundation in line with PKSF is recommended to meet their needs. These farmers do not have farmers’ associations or cooperatives to bargain for fair price of their produces. Government might encourage establishment of farmers’ cooperatives to ensure fair price of their produces. To make such cooperatives successful, top-down approach by the influentials must be avoided. Investment in agricultural research should as well be raised to at least 2% of GDP to help generate technologies to cope with climate change hazards and disseminate such technologies at farmer’s level.

Keywords: Crop, Agriculture, Challenges and opportunities

Location:

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Non-commodity: Adoption of technology

Objectives:

Major objective of this review article is to discuss the challenges of crop agriculture of Bangladesh and suggest possible opportunities to address the issue that may assist the policy makers to develop policy guidelines.

Methodology:

Bangladesh has lost about 1 million ha of productive arable land from 1983 to 1996 (BBS, 1999). That is about 80,000 ha of agricultural land per year are going out of crop production. Major factors responsible for land loss are urbanization, human settlement, building of infrastructure, and river erosion.Another major challenge to agriculture is the increase in the growth of population. Growth rate of population at present stands at 1.26% (BER, 2008-2009). Population is increasing @ 2 million per year and the total population would be around 233 million by 2050 if the current growth rate continues. Such a growth rate of a country of 1,43,000 sq. km is viewed as a great challenge not only to different economic development activities but also as crisis to accommodation, environment and meeting other basic needs (food, education, and health). When the population growth demands more number of workers at field level, the number has considerably been reduced. Furthermore, birth control materials are not produced in the country and the supply is often inadequate compared to demands. Another major problem in population control lies with the religious fundamentalists. It may not be irrelevant to mention that different political parties are not interested to control population in the fear of losing vote banks of the fundamentalists Atmospheric CO_2, CH₄, SO₂, N₂O, etc. are mainly responsible for temperature increase resulting in the rise of sea level. Temperature rise by 1.00 C would inundate 18% area of Bangladesh as indicated by different studies. At the same time, the country is affected frequently by flood, drought, cyclone, and salinity due to climate change. As a result, soil fertility, crop productivity, and food security would be seriously threatened.About 60% of arable lands of Bangladesh are deficient in N, P, and K. Organic matter content of soils is much below the critical level of 1.5% (Z. Karim, 1997).Farmers normally use urea in recommended doses. Because of high prices, they apply P and K fertilizers at the rates that are far below the recommended amount. Chemical fertilizers are not normally integrated with organic manures Water use efficiency in Bangladesh is extremely low. On the average, 25-30% of irrigation water is used by crops and the rest is lost due to faulty flood irrigation system (Z. Karim, 1997; M. Mondal, 2005). Conservation of rain water during monsoon is virtually non-existent that could be utilized for irrigating crops during dry season. The use of fertilizers, quality seeds, and irrigation together can not ensure sustainable production unless timely and appropriate measures for the management of pests and diseases are simultaneously pursued. It is important to note that the incidence of diseases and pests has lately become very severe due to the adverse effects of climate change, particularly rise in temperature (IPCC, 2007). It is estimated that 4-14% of rice yield in Bangladesh is lost every year by different insect pests. Bacterial leaf blight (BLB) and nematode (ufra) are now the serious diseases in rice. But the technologies resistant to pests and diseases are still very limited. Use of 1PM technology is limited to rice and few vegetables of the total seed requirement, only about 6% quality seeds were supplied in 2003-2004 (N. Huda et. al., 2004) although seed as an input could increase crop production by 10-15% (M. Mondal, 2005).About 90% farmers of Bangladesh are small and marginal (below 2.5 acres). They are very often constrained by finance and thus cannot afford high cost for management. They have very limited access to institutional credit because of collateral requirement.Productive farmers of Bangladesh mainly belong to small and marginal categories. These farmers do not have either Farmer’s Association or Farmer’s Co-operative to bargain for fair prices of their produces. They are thus forced to sell their produces at low prices to intermediaries. Since the farmers are often unable to meet procurement requirements (14% moisture content, absence of foreign materials in seeds, etc.) of the government, they cannot sell their produces at the price fixed by the government.Investment in agricultural research in Bangladesh now stands at only 0.20 of GDP (Z. Karim, 1997) even though agriculture contributes to 19.10% of GDP and employs 50.28% of labour force (BBS, 2008). Low investment has resulted in the under functioning of National Agricultural Research System (NARS). Scopes for promotion and training of potential scientists in different fields are also limited due mainly to fund constraint

Source of Information: Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 35(2) : 235-245, June 2010 ISSN 0258-7122

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Achievement/Findings:

It is essential to review the present land use policy with the relevant experts, professionals, and farmer’s representatives and update it based on their comments and suggestions. The policy should be enacted and put into operation immediately to stop further loss of arable land. Khas lands that are arable should not be diverted for housing. • It is highly imperative that the twin problem of arable land loss and population growth is addressed by the government simultaneously to ensure production sustainability and food security. Both the issues need to be categorically spelled out in the new National Agricultural Policy (NAP) under preparation by the Ministry of Agriculture. • The government should urge BRRI, BARI, and other NARS institutes, private companies and NGOs to develop their own hybrid variety programmes of rice, vegetables and other crops within the country. • Strong political commitment must be ensured to implement the present “Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan”. It is also extremely important that both Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP-II) and Sixth Fiver-Year Plan under preparation contain clear provisions to address the issue. • To encourage the use of balanced fertilizers, chemical fertilizers must be integrated with organic manures. The government should clearly spell out the need for balanced fertilizers in its new NAP in the interest of sustainable production. Farmers should as well be motivated to reduce their dependence on the use of chemical fertilizers to maintain soil fertility.Irrigation should be applied at the appropriate growth stages of crops for efficient use of water. Growing crops under minimum tillage, relay cropping and mixed cropping practices may also be strengthened for rainfed farming. Farmers may be motivated to grow low-water requiring crops like pulses, wheat, etc. Different NGOs may as well be used to excavate derelict ponds, canals, etc. for the conservation of rain water for irrigation in dry seasons. • It is also necessary to expand biotechnology and 1PM practice to other economic crops, such as oilseeds, pulses, spices, and fruits for the management of pests and diseases. The new NAP should emphasize the importance of the use of these environment-friendly frontier technologies in pest management. • Farmers’ low quality seeds still meet about 95% seed requirement. For quality seed production, they should be given massive training on seed production, preservation, and processing. It is also important to support them through credit supply on easy terms and at low interest rate. • A new institution/foundation following the model of Palli Karmo Sahayak Foundation (PKSF) should be established along with necessary manpower and other facilities to cater to the needs of resource-poor marginal and small farmers. The institution must have an in-built provision for strong monitoring unit to monitor the use of credit at regular intervals. • Storage facilities may be established in rural areas following the experience of SHOGORIP that may allow farmers to store their produces and sell the same at better prices. Alternatively, the government might encourage to establish farmers’ cooperatives to ensure fair price of their produces. The cooperatives should not, however, be run as a commercial profit-making entity. • Since investment in agricultural research is highly rewarding and beneficial, the government should raise the investment to at least 2% of GDP as recommended by World Bank and FAO. The increased investment will certainly encourage scientists to develop technologies to cope with the hazards of climate change.

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