By editorial note: Bangladesh’s rural economy, mainly driven by agriculture, has been
successful in reducing poverty over the years. However, climate change poses a significant
threat to the agricultural sector, particularly in flood, drought, and saline-affected areas. To
ensure faster and more inclusive rural growth, the country needs to prioritize agricultural
diversification and invest in rural non-farm enterprises. The World Bank is actively working to
improve agricultural resilience through various projects, including introducing climate-tolerant
crops and enhancing grain storage facilities. To secure a prosperous future, Bangladesh must
focus on climate-resilient strategies and inclusive policies.
Bangladesh: Growing the Economy through Advances in Agriculture
Challenges – Climate change, limited diversity and opportunity
Bangladesh’s rural economy, and specifically agriculture, have been powerful drivers of
poverty reduction in Bangladesh since 2000. Indeed, agriculture accounted for 90
percent of the reduction in poverty between 2005 and 2010.
More than 70 percent of Bangladesh’s population and 77 percent of its workforce lives
in rural areas. Nearly half of all of Bangladesh’s workers and two-thirds in rural areas
are directly employed by agriculture, and about 87 percent of rural households rely on
agriculture for at least part of their income.
Bangladesh has made commendable progress over the past 40 years in achieving food
security, despite frequent natural disasters and population growth (food grain
production, for example, tripled between 1972 and 2014, from 9.8 to 34.4 million tons).
With one of the fastest rates of productivity growth in the world since 1995 (averaging
2.7 percent per year, second only to China), Bangladesh’s agricultural sector has
benefited from a sound and consistent policy framework backed up by substantial
public investments in technology, rural infrastructure and human capital.
But Bangladesh is among the most vulnerable countries to climate change, which
poses a long-term threat to the country’s agricultural sector, particularly in areas
affected by flooding, saline intrusion, and drought.
Faster and more inclusive rural growth with job creation will require greater
agricultural diversification together with more robust rural non-farm enterprise
development. A shift in production from rice to higher-value crops will significantly
reduce malnutrition, trigger more rapid growth in incomes, and create more and better
on-farm and non-farm jobs, especially for women and youth. Livestock and fisheries
also offer tremendous potential for reducing malnutrition and increasing incomes and
jobs in a severely land constrained economy, but struggle because of inadequate
government support.
Investment in and expansion of the rural non-farm enterprises (or RNFEs) is a parallel
priority for Bangladesh. RFNE’s can help households become more resilient to climate
shocks through income and livelihood diversification. And they can be a potentially
powerful source of job generation, especially for youth and women, through more
efficient and competitive value chains.
Solutions – Stronger resilience, livelihood support and diversification
The World Bank has addressed Bangladesh’s agriculture needs through:
The Integrated Agriculture Productivity Project (IAPP) is designed to improve resilience
of agriculture production particularly in northern and southern affected by flash floods,
drought and saline intrusion from tidal surges. IAPP also supports adaptation and
mitigation programs that introduce heat-tolerant, drought-tolerant and saline-tolerant
crops, improved soil health management, and diversification out of rice production.
The Modern Food Storage Facilities Project (MFSFP), initiated in 2007 when Bangladesh
faced a potential food security crisis because it was unable to procure rice on the
international markets, expands and improves grain storage infrastructure and
strengthens the management of grain stocks. It will enable Bangladesh to better
withstand frequent threats to food security, especially for its poorest and most
vulnerable citizens, from natural disasters and external shocks.
The Social Investment Program Project (SIPP-III), known as the Nuton Jibon Livelihood
Improvement Project (NJLIP), builds and strengthens community institutions that
mobilize the poor and extreme poor, and provides them with funding for small
infrastructure and livelihood support, nutrition awareness, and agricultural production
knowledge. NJLIP also increases economic opportunities through producer groups,
cooperatives and societies that promote access to markets.
The National Agriculture Technology Program (NATP-II) helps the Government of
Bangladesh increase productivity and food security, encourage climate change
adaptation, and enhance nutrition through safer and more diversified foods. It focuses
on better technology and farm production practices, and it targets small holders and
women’s participation in agriculture.
