Agricultural production and food security in Bangladesh in recent years. Agriculture is the largest sector of Bangladesh’s economy employing about 65% of the current labor force and accounting for around one-fourth of the total GDP. The annual rice production is estimated to be 26.53 million tons, while fish production is 2.32 million tons. In 2009- 2010, agriculture accounted for 23.5% of the country’s GDP. The average share of agriculture to total GDP is 26.13% in Bangladesh since 1980 with a highest 32.77% in 1985 and a minimum of 18.29% in 2011 and is therefore considered a lifeline of the Bangladesh economy. Table 1 indicates the importance of agriculture in the economy of Bangladesh.
In recent years the agriculture sector has maintained an average annual growth of around 3 percent. However, agricultural production is under pressure from increasing demands for food with gradually decreasing resources.
Cereal grain and pulses. The structure of the agricultural sector in Bangladesh, as is the case with most other South Asian nations, is largely directed toward the cereal sector. Among cereals, the primary position is occupied by rice with about 80 percent of the total arable land is dedicated to rice cultivation. Thus rice boasts to be the primary crop for Bangladesh’s entire agricultural sector and is also the staple item in Bangladeshi diets. Rice supply in 2015 is expected to be in the range of 31.2 to 35.2 million tons, and it is likely to grow to 39 million tons by 2030. It is projected that Bangladesh will be able to supply its own cereal grain at least till 2020. In 2000 to 2001, rice alone occupied 75% of the cultivable land in Bangladesh which increased to 79.4% in 2008. In 2011, Bangladesh produced an all time record of 34.25 million tons of rice. Rice also accounts for 94% of the cereals consumed and constitutes 92% of the annual food grain production. During the period of 2006-2008, the share of cereals in the total value of agricultural output was 53%. Though Bangladesh has achieved significant progress in agriculture, especially with respect to rice production and yields, the demand for rice still outstrips domestic production, and the country remains a net importer of rice.
With annual population growth of 1.8 million people, Bangladesh requires approximately an additional 300,000 metric tons of rice a year. With growing population, planning for future cereal production to meet food security challenges would require projections of future supply and demand for cereals. Pulses are vital components in diversification of Bangladesh’s predominantly rice-based cropping system. On average 550,000 tons of pulses are produced in Bangladesh every year. Lentil is the second most important pulse crop in terms of area (154,000 ha) and production (116,000 t), but ranks the highest in consumer preference and total consumption. The research institute has released 61 high-yielding modern varieties of rice since 1970, and 80 percent of the country’s rice-growing land is currently cultivated with BRRI-developed varieties. Of the new rice varieties developed by the rice institute, hybrid varieties had yields of 6.5 to 9 tonnes per hectare, compared with 4 to 7.5 tonnes per hectare from other varieties. Despite their high yield, Bangladeshi farmers are less interested in growing hybrid varieties because producing and collecting seeds is more complicated.
Fisheries and livestock development. The role of fisheries and livestock sub-sector is very crucial for the economic development and food security in Bangladesh. Livestock and fisheries together contribute 3.3% of the GDP and 10.33% of the agriculture sector and provide daily dietary protein and milk requirements of the people.
Cattle play multiple roles in generating income and ensuring food security for many rural households. Although the contribution of livestock sub-sector is comparatively low in the country's total gross domestic product (GDP), it employs about 20 percent of the rural labor force. This requires urgent and rapid development of livestock sub-sector in general and growth of livestock products in particular, in the future. The major challenges for the development of livestock sub-sector in Bangladesh are lack of feed, incidence of disease, and poor genetic stock. Therefore agribusiness relating to livestock requires all sorts of support including innovative researches on livestock development. There are about 22.4 million goats in Bangladesh, and the production trend has been increasing with the growth rate of 2.4%.
Major food security issues in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is the most densely populated large country in the world. Demographic trends indicate that this number will grow to around 220 million by 2050. Bangladesh is currently experiencing rapid population growth and on the brink of severe food shortages in near future. A number of interrelated factors contribute to food insecurity in Bangladesh, poverty being the most prominent of all. In the dimension of food supply and availability, the most crucial challenges are increasing demand for the ever growing population, seasonal food scarcity, climate change and environmental degradation. Though its a global issue, it must initially be dealt by scrutinizing the causes that underlie food insecurity at household and national level. Food insecurity has a range of negative consequences on public health which in turn induces poverty. Studies have shown that food insecure people are more vulnerable to developing diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and other chronic health complications. These factors not only pose economic burden at household level, but also on the overall economy by reducing active labor force, decreasing physical and mental performance. Apart from that, seasonal food shortage and high food prices are seriously affecting the food availability and accessibility of the poor and middle class especially in the northern region of the country.