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Bangladesh Experience in Rural Development: the Success and Failure of the Various Models Used

KAZI ALI TOUFIQUE
Research Director
Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), Dhaka, Bangladesh

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

This paper describes the experience of rural development in Bangladesh by (i) highlighting the key stylized facts about the dynamics of the rural economy, (ii) summarising the key approaches, policies and programmes adopted for rural development, and (iii) making recommendations for improvement of rural development strategies. The rural economy has become more complex due to the growth of the non-farm sector, migration, commercialization, development of infrastructure and appearance of new actors such as the NGOs. Farming still plays a critical role but not the central one and rural development strategy has to be more cross-sectoral and multi occupational in approach.

Keywords: Bangladesh, Agriculture, Non-farm Sector, Rural Development

Location: In Bangladesh

Start Date: 00-00-2006

End Date: 00-00-2014

Program Area: Socio-economic and Policy

Commodity: Livelihood, Modeling

Objectives:

In particular, the paper aims to: - highlight the key stylized facts about the dynamics of the rural economy of Bangladesh (Section II). - summarise the key approaches, policies and programmes adopted and followed for rural development, and how they have contributed to the current status of the rural economy and people's life in Bangladesh (Section III ). - make recommendations for improving present rural development strategy (Section VI).

Methodology:

Structural Transformation of the Bangladesh Economy: Over the last thirty-five years, the economy of Bangladesh has gone through a substantial sectoral shif. While in 1981 the agriculture sector contributed to about a third of GDP, this share came down sharply to 17 percent in 2014. The share of industry has increased from 17 percent to 30 percent during the same period. The service sector, the largest component of Bangladesh GDP, increased from half of GDP in 1981 to 54 percent in 2014. Though the share of agriculture to GDP has been steadily declining, it continues to employ most of the labour force of Bangladesh. During the second half of the 1990s, it provided about half of the total employment, but from 2005 onwards, its share has been slightly declining and that of industry increasing. Employment in the service sector has also been declining from 2005. Industrial employment is, therefore, now compensating for this relative decline in employment in the agriculture and service sectors. Transformation of the Rural Economy of Bangladesh: The production structure of the agricultural sectors in Bangladesh has not experienced noteworthy changes between 2006 and 2014. Crop and horticulture sub-sector dominates more than half of total agricultural product (55.8 per cent in 2014). The second-largest component comprises the fisheries sector, contributing 27 per cent. This sector has the highest rate of growth: 6.32 per cent as against 3.7 per cent in the crop sub-sector during 2006 to 2014. Crop and livestock sub-sectors have a declining relative share, while fisheries subsector is increasing. A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF VARIOUS RURAL DEVELOPMENT MODELS AND THEIR EXPERIENCES IN BANGLADESH: Community development has been the cornerstone of rural development in Bangladesh. Community-based rural development can be viewed as the participation of people, particularly of the poor, women and the excluded, in improving their livelihoods. On the other hand, community organisations are institutions and groups formed, either by the community itself or by development projects, for pursuing the goal of rural development. These institutions can be formal (that is they are registered or legally recognised) or informal (unregistered or having less legal status, etc.). It is widely believed that community development can change power relations and provide agency or voice to the poor by making development more inclusive, improving governance and channelling more resources to the poor. To simultaneously address problems caused by the inadequacy of both local infrastructure and local institutions, the Comilla Model integrated four distinct components in every Thana (sub-district) where it was implemented: a. establishment of a training and development centre TTDC (Thana Training and Development Centre), b. a road-drainage embankment works programme, c. a decentralised, small-scale irrigation programme, and d. a two-tiered cooperative system, with primary co-operatives operating in the villages, and federations operating at Thana level.

Source of Information: Bangladesh Development Studies, Vol. XXXX, A, March-June 2017, Nos. 1 & 2

Article Link (Online Journal): http://bdlaws.minlaw.gov.bd/print_sections_all.php?id=367

Funding Source:

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Bangladesh now has more than half a century of experience in rural development. This was carried out in adverse conditions: a war in 1971, several natural calamities, not to mention the political instability faced every now and then. The rural scenario changed from the dominance of the peasant farmers to the more thriving rural non-farm sectors, involving many actors and institutions. The farming-based rural development projects such as the Comilla Model or the IRDB soon lost their relevance and were replaced by new projects that took a holistic approach to address the problems of the whole rural sector, from education to sanitation and recently to climate change. Although the government still follows a co-operative-based strategy, these projects are increasingly being replaced by informal groups. New actors have emerged, particularly the NGOs. We consider the end effect of these more decentralised rural development efforts as positive. The Bangladesh “development paradox” shows that impressive progress in various social development indicators is achieved at a low level of income (Asadullah, Savoia and Mahmud 2014). While the positive role of the government played a part, the presence of the NGOs did contribute substantially to this achievement.

Knowledge Management: Journal