Home ›› 01 Dec 2021 ›› Front
The rural-urban continuum and the marriage of farm mechanisation and innovations in crop variety have transformed agriculture into a vibrant booster of village economy.
At the juncture of the country’s 50 years of independence, the farming community is now more well-to-do than what they were up to half a century earlier when it was hard to pick up an optimum output that could barely feed the hungry mouths.
A tremendous success is evident in the production of rice, wheat, maize, jute, potato, cereals, vegetables, fruits and other crops.
Not only per-hectare and aggregate production have gone up, export of agricultural products have also followed suit.
Available irrigation, use of modern technology, farm mechanisation and innovations in crop variety have all contributed to the digital evolution of today’s agriculture.
Rice production
Around 75 per cent of total cultivable land account for rice cultivation which has shot up by four times since 1971. The output of the staple food reached 38.7 million metric tons in 2020-21 from 10.8 million metric tons in 1970-71.
During the period, per-hectare yield came about 3.20 metric tons up from 1.09 metric tons, suggesting that the rate of production went up by three times over the last five decades.
The high-yielding varieties as well as good harvesting of Boro rice added to the gross output.
Boro rice yields 4.12 metric tons per hectare while Amon 2.55 and Aus 2.51 metric tons respectively.
Rice growers appear to dedicate more land to Boro cultivation estimated to be 4.87-million hectare from 1.15 million hectares in the liberation year.
In addition, 3.12-million hectare of land meant for growing Aus paddy has also been earmarked for Boro cultivation.
So far 137 high-yielding rice varieties have been developed, of which 106 have been credited to Bangladesh Rice Research Institute including 7 hybrid varieties.
Hybrid variety is almost three times more productive than local varieties and is 15-20 per cent more than high-yielding varieties.
Potato, maize and wheat
The country grew 10.6 million metric tons of potatoes and 5.7 million metric tons of maize in Fiscal Year 2020-2021.
Potato production rose almost 13 times while maize 1,900 times in the last 50 years. In 1972-73, potato and maize productions were 0.82 million and 3,000 metric tons respectively.
Similarly, wheat production increased by 10 times to 10.29 lakh metric tons in Fiscal Year 2020-21 from 1.09 lakh metric tons in FY 1970-71.
However, wheat production crossed 19 lakh metric tons in 1988-99.
In 1070-71, jute production went up to 68 lakh bales, which reached 77 lakh bales in 2020-2021.
In 2000, jute production, however, dropped to 39. 21 lakh bales. Bangladesh produced 197 lakh metric tons of vegetables in FY20.
Farm mechanisation
The mechanisation of farming has brought about revolution when it comes to hiking production.
Once bull was used to prepare land, thresh paddy and other crops. All these farm activities have given way to machines. Now tractor is used to till the land and small machines to thresh grains.
The FY21 budget has set aside Tk 3,200 crore for incentives to farm mechanisation.
So far, 1,369 combined harvesters, 550 reapers and 22 rice transplanters have been included in farming blessed by due incentive programme.
The government is subsidizing 50 per cent of the total amount required to buy machines for individual farmers in the plains while 70 for their peers in haor and coastal areas.
Varieties released
A great deal of varieties of fruits, vegetables and other crops have been developed, of which fruit represents 197 varieties, vegetables 167, rice 137, potato 109, pulses 83, oilseed 77, spices 56, sugarcrop 48, jute 44, wheat 39, maize 28, tea 25, and flower 24.
The Bangladeshi scientists have invented a total of 1,524 varieties of different crops and 1,517 types of production technologies including saline resistant and climate smart technologies.
Single cropland turns multiple croppings
The amount of triple cropped has extended to 1.77 million hectares from 0.52 million hectares and double cropland 3.93 million hectares from 2.75 million hectares.
The area for single cropping reduced to 2.22 million hectares from 5.05 million hectares while non-rice producing land increased to 4.51 million hectares from 2.27 million hectares.
The area of land came under irrigation accounted for 4.80 million hectares from 1.62 million hectares.
Now cropping intensity is 194 per cent at present as against 146 per cent in the past.
Fish, Poultry and Livestock
Bangladesh achieved tremendous success in milk, egg and meat production. In the three terms of the incumbent government, fish production rose by 2.38 times, egg production three times, dairy production 4.50 times and meat production six times.
In Fiscal Year 2019-2020, fish production went up to 4.5 million metric tons from 1.89 million metric tons in Fiscal Year 2001-2002.
From Fiscal Year 2010 to Fiscal Year 2020, egg production reached 1,736 crore pieces from 574.24 crore pieces, meat 76.74 lakh metric tons from 12.60 lakh metric tons and milk production 106.80 lakh metric tons from 23.70 lakh metric tons.
The country ranks first in jute export and second in jute production, second in jackfruit, third in open water fishing and vegetable cultivation, fourth in rice production and Tilapia fish production, fifth in fresh water fish farming, sixth in potato production, eighth in mango and guava production, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United States Food and Drug Administration, the Department of Agriculture Extension, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock.
Bangladesh stands second in overall growth of fish production over the last 10 years while first in Hilsha catching.
Organisations established
After establishing BRRI in 1970, the governments of Bangladesh established around one and a half dozens of departments, institutions, foundations and other organisations which played an important role in agricultural development.
Of them, Cotton Development Board, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council, Bangladesh Tea Research Institute, Seed Certification Agency, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, Rural Development Academy, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, Department of Agricultural Marketing , Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute, Bangladesh Sugercrop Research Institution, Barind Multipurpose Development Authority, Hortex Foundation, Krishi Gobeshona Foundation, Bangladesh Institute of Research and Training on Applied Nutrition and National Agriculture Training Academy are notable.
In Fiscal Year 1971-1972, the country had 1.6 crore-hectare cultivable land which came down to 79-lakh hectare in Fiscal Year 2020-2021. Some 40.6 per cent people are engaged in agricultural work.
“There is no scarcity of rice. Country achieved huge in meat, milk, fish and egg production. Government policy, variety development, easy access to fertilizer, and knowledge of farmers helped Bangladesh in this achievements, said Jiban Krishna Biswas, Executive Director of Krishi Gobeshona Foundation.
“We need to increase rice production by 2 million tons each year. Especially we need to develop climate resilient variety to keep production up as global warming can be the main challenge in agriculture sector” he said.
“Now people consume meat, fish and eggs due to development of fisheries and poultry sector. Just after the liberation, people used to eat only rice, pulse, and often they took fish,” he added.
M Asaduzzaman, former research director of BIDS told The Business Post “In 1960’s, just before independence high yielding varieties were introduced in agriculture which increased the production. In 80’s irrigation system given to private sector which boasted Boro cultivation. Highest yielding Boro rice comprises 60 per cent of rice production in Bangladesh currently.
“Now the country produces rice, vegetable and other food crops which increased availability in the market. After liberation 75% people took meals two times a day. Now 75% people take meals three times a day, he said.
“The problem is the farmers are not getting fair price due to lack of market accessibility. In this area we have to develop a lot,” he added.
