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Rural Development in Bangladesh Since Independence: a Study on Progress and Performance

Mohammad Ismail Hossain
Ph. D candidate
Department of Agricultural Economics, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Mst. Esmat Ara Begum
Ph. D candidate
Department of Agricultural Economics, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece

Eleni Papadopoulou
Assistant Professor
Department of Spatial Planning and Development, School of Engineering, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Anastasios Semos
Professor
Department of Agricultural Economics, School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Rural development has been the core focus of Bangladesh's economic policies since its independence. The rural sector is pivotal to the country's economic, social and political development. This paper examines the Bangladesh rural development policies, strategies and programs since Independence in 1971. Secondary data were used and collected from various sources especially from BBS and HIES. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools such as mean and percentage to reach the objectives. Results of this study show that the share of the agricultural sector in the country's GDP has declined which is an indicator of a country's progress from an agriculture-based to an export-oriented economy. The success of the agricultural and rural programs in Bangladesh is reflected in the reduction in the poverty incidence in the rural sector from almost 54 percent in the 1983-84 to about 35 percent in 2009-10. Development efforts of Bangladesh are governed by the twin objectives of achieving growth with equity and reducing poverty. The government policy has to some extent achieved the intended results but poverty and inequality are still significant and apparent. Hence, rural development continues to be an important agenda to the country's development effort.

Keywords: Rural development, Progress, Performance, Poverty reduction, Bangladesh

Location: In Bangladesh

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Resource Development and Management

Commodity: Income generation, Development

Objectives:

To attain higher economic growth of the country's GDP (5.6 percent), by increasing agricultural productivity, reducing population.

Methodology:

Agriculture performed relatively well in the 2000s. The growth of agricultural incomes is estimated at 3.9 percent per year during 2000- 01 to 2010-11 compared to 3.5 percent during 1989-90 to 2000-01. The acceleration of agricultural growth has contributed substantially to improved performance of the overall economy. The national income grew at 5.9 percent in the 2000s compared to 5.3 percent during the previous decade. The acceleration in the growth of agricultural incomes was on account of crop and non-crop agricultural sectors, particularly from livestock and fisheries. Livestock and fisheries sub-sectors experienced a substantial increase in physical output, as well as favorable prices compared to the crop sector in 1990s. The fisheries income grew by 7.8 percent per year in the 1990s and reached pick, a substantial decline was observed in the consequent year and was 3.1 percent during the 2000s. The income from livestock activities picked up in the 1980s and continued to grow at a robust rate of 7.3 percent in the 1990s and then fall in 2000s. Only the forestry sub-sector grew at a moderate rate of 4.0 percent per year. Thus, agriculture has become much more diversified than it was at the time of independence (Mandal, 2000; Ahmed and Chowdhury, 2000). The share of livestock, fisheries and forestry in agricultural incomes was only 20 percent during 1973-74; by 2009-10 they contributed more than 67 percent to agricultural incomes. However, the crop sector is still dominated by the production of rice. Although the area under rice increased marginally from 9.28 to 11.27 million ha, rice production increased from 9.77 million tons in 1971-72 to 32.36 million tons in 2009-10. It implies a rate of growth of 2.78% per year, much faster than the growth of the population. Development and diffusion of high-yielding rice varieties supported by the development of minor irrigation through shallow tubewells and power pumps was the main driving force behind this growth (Hossain, 1988; Hossain et al. 1994). More than 62 percent of the land is now irrigated, and over 91 percent of the rice area has been brought under the cultivation of the high-yielding modern rice varieties. An accurate assessment of the trend in reduction of income poverty is difficult, in spite of a large number of studies conducted for Bangladesh on the subject (Muqtada 1986; Hossain and Sen 1992; Ravallion and Sen 1996; Sen 2003). The household income expenditure surveys (HIES) conducted by the Bangladesh Bureau of statistics that report the incidence of poverty and income inequality through the periodic generation of household-level data changed over time the method of data collection and the measurement of the poverty line. The formulation of development plans and implementation of projects in Bangladesh are traditionally a „top-down? process. Participation of the local institutions and/or communities in project planning and management had not been practiced or felt necessary by development planners and policy makers in the past. For the first time of the development planning history of the country, the Fifth FYP took the development of the community and social groups as a development strategy.

Source of Information: Asian Journal of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2(3), pp. 452-464.

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Rural development has been the core focus of the government policy, strategy and programs after the Independence of Bangladesh. The rural sector was strategic to the country's economic growth, social and political development. The sector was crucial in providing the agricultural labour and output to the country; while the high incidence of poverty that characterized the sector posed a major threat to the social and political stability of the nation. The multifaceted significance of this sector provides the underlying rationales for all the development of Bangladesh and economic policies since 1971. All the past agricultural and rural development programs failed to uplifted the condition of rural poor although the contribution of the agricultural sector to the economic development and wellbeing of the nation is highly satisfactory. In fact it can be said that the sector not only provides the engine for the economic growth of the country and but also laid the foundation for the country's drive towards industrialization in the 1990s and 2000s. The share of the agricultural sector in the country's GDP has declined from its peak at 30 percent in 1980-81 to about 19 percent in 2009-10. The reduction of agricultural sector contribution to the economy is seen as an indicator of a country's progress from an agriculture-based to an export-oriented economy. Although the contribution of agriculture to the country's economy is declining but its absolute value is expected to increase and its economic and socio-political significance in terms of export earnings, employment and food security will remain strong. The success of the agricultural and rural programs in Bangladesh is reflected in the reduction in the poverty incidence in the rural sector from almost 54 percent in 1983-84 to about 35 percent in 2009-10. However, despite various policies and programs to improve life in the rural sector, poverty and income inequality still remain grave concerns when the economic being of this sector is compared to the non-agricultural or non-rural sectors. It cannot be denied that some progress have been achieved in poverty reduction along with improvements in socio-economic indicators such as population growth, life expectancy, infant mortality rates, literacy rate, the proportion of population supplied with safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities. But the fact remains that there exists a disparity of income between the sectors and poverty incidence is still high in the rural sector. Hence, rural development is still an important agenda to the country's future development plan.

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