Agriculture in Bangladesh

Development of agricultural output of Bangladesh in 2019 US$ since 1961
As watercourses such as canals, both natural and manmade, and rivers contribute as the vital source of irrigation, their spread across the country is attributed as a key factor for the economic and geographic extent of agriculture in Bangladesh. Photographed is a process of irrigation underway in Comilla, enabled by a pump that is extracting water from the Gumti seen in the background.

Agriculture is the largest employment sector in Bangladesh, making up 14.2 percent of Bangladesh's GDP in 2017 and employing about 42.7 percent of the workforce.[1] The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development, food security, and other economic and social forces. A plurality of Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture. Due to a number of factors, Bangladesh's labour-intensive agriculture has achieved steady increases in food grain production despite the often unfavorable weather conditions.[2] These include better flood control and irrigation, a generally more efficient use of fertilisers, as well as the establishment of better distribution and rural credit networks.[2]

Although rice and jute are the primary crops, maize and vegetables are assuming greater importance.[2] Due to the expansion of irrigation networks, some wheat producers have switched to cultivation of maize which is used mostly as poultry feed.[2] Tea is grown in the northeast.[2] Because of Bangladesh's fertile soil and normally ample water supply, rice can be grown and harvested three times a year in many areas.[2] The country is among the top producers of rice (third), potatoes (seventh), tropical fruits (sixth), jute (second), and farmed fish (fifth).[3][4] With 35.8 million metric tons produced in 2000, rice is Bangladesh's principal crop. In comparison to rice, wheat output in 1999 was 1.9 million tonnes (1,900,000 long tons; 2,100,000 short tons).

Population pressure continues to place a severe burden on productive capacity, creating a food deficit, especially of wheat. Foreign assistance and commercial imports fill the gap. Underemployment remains a serious problem, and a growing concern for Bangladesh's agricultural sector will be its ability to absorb additional manpower.[2] Finding alternative sources of employment will continue to be a daunting problem for future governments, particularly with the increasing numbers of landless peasants who already account for about half the rural labour force.[2] Other challenges facing the sector include environmental issues: insecticides, water management challenges, pollution, and land degradation all effect the agricultural system in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate change, with extreme weather and temperature changes significantly changing the conditions for growing food. Adaptation of the agricultural sector is a major concern for policy addressing climate change in Bangladesh.

  1. ^ "CIA – The World Factbook". Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 5 December 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Background Note: Bangladesh". Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. March 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2008. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ "Countries by Commodity". FAOSTAT. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. 2013. Archived from the original on 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  4. ^ Golub, Stephen; Varma, Abir (February 2014). Fishing Exports and Economic Development of Least Developed Countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Comoros, Sierra Leone and Uganda (PDF) (Report). Swarthmore College. p. 23. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 October 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2015.