Press reports on Bangladesh’s Agriculture and Structural Transformation, convened by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) in association with the DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme (DEGRP) on Thursday, 20 February 2014 to discuss challenges and solutions for economic transformation and growth.
For all press reports published on Friday, 21 February 2014, click here [pdf ~1.68 MB]
For all editorials published between 22-23 February 2014, click here [pdf~205 KB]
Published in The Daily Star
Go for new tools to boost farm sector: analysts
Star Business Report
Bangladesh must use new technology to retain growth in agriculture, analysts said yesterday.
It is important to treat agriculture as a growth driver, develop marketing infrastructure for farm produces and ensure price incentives for farmers, they said at a discussion on agriculture and structural transformation.
At the same time, the country will have to take preparations to compete in a global market, they said.
Centre for Policy Dialogue and DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme organised the discussion at Ruposhi Bangla Hotel.
“Agriculture was never taken into consideration as a growth driver,” said Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive director of Power and Participation Research Centre.
Agriculture was used only to ensure food security, he said. He gave examples from Denmark that transformed its agriculture sector as an economic growth driver.
“Agricultural marketing has not been prioritised, while investment in the area is insignificant.”
Government investment in fisheries and livestock is also low, he added. “In fisheries, we can become a global leader.”
M Osman Farruk, a former education minister, said, “We need a quantum jump in agricultural production function.” He also emphasised the cultivation of higher value crops.
Stepphen Wiggins, a research fellow of Agricultural Development Policy at Overseas Development Institute UK, said rapid growth in agricultural productivity is possible.
“Agricultural growth in low income countries is most effective in reducing poverty and hunger.”
Quazi Shahabuddin, a professorial fellow at Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies, said, “The agriculture sector has already gone through a major transformation.”
He stressed the need to increase productivity of livestock and fisheries at a rate that is greater than the demand growth.
MM Akash, a professor of economics at Dhaka University, said progress made through a green revolution has already reached its frontier.
New types of technologies, including seed varieties, are needed to boost agricultural production, he added.
Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said Bangladesh has lost farm lands due to urbanisation and other reasons in the past decades.
The government plans to initiate projects where four-storey buildings will be built in villages to house families that he said would curb reduction in agricultural lands.
Amenities, such as parks, markets, schools and other facilities, will be set up in a way that farm lands are available for cultivation, he added.
Referring to plans to establish compact townships in rural areas, Sajjad Zohir, a research director of Economic Research Group, stressed the need for digitisation of land records.
Prof Md Rafiqul Hoque, vice chancellor of Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, said changes need to be brought about in agriculture, including mechanisation.
On the losses incurred by potato growers for falling prices, he called for policy support to growers.
“This is a burning issue.” he said. “Farmer will refuse to grow potato next year.”
CPD Executive Director Mustafizur Rahman stressed the need to prepare Bangladesh’s agriculture sector for the global market.
Published in The Daily Sun
Agriculture needs urgent transformation
Potential of agro-industry under focus
Staff Correspondent
Country’s agriculture sector, which used to be seen as part of subsistence economy from food-security point of view, can be turned into a major growth driver by shifting focus onto agro-industry, according to experts.
Contribution of agriculture to GDP (gross domestic product) continues to fall under the traditional system of farming, but experts see huge prospect of agro-based industry in the country.
Such observations came at a dialogue titled “Bangladesh Agriculture and Structural Transformation” arranged by Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) as part of its DFID-ESRC Growth Research Programme (DEGRP).
“Although the idea of considering agriculture as a growth driver is premature, but this should take shape for country’s economic development,” said former adviser of caretaker government Hossain Zillur Rahman.
Besides focusing agriculture as means of food security, the farming sector now should be considered as a major engine of growth by laying focus on agro-processing industry, agro marketing and retailing.
Against the backdrop of the drastic fall in the prices of various agricultural products, a sustainable structure for agriculture incentives should be developed, experts observed.
Presenting the keynote paper at the dialogue, noted researcher Steve Wiggins said agricultural productivity can grow faster than that of the manufacturing sector.
He said that although agriculture’s share in GDP continues to fall, the sector can play a vital role in its contribution to employment generation and poverty reduction.
“We should not be pessimistic about the potentiality of agriculture sector,” commented Wiggins, who works with Overseas Development Institute (ODI).
Speakers also observed that technological upgrading, credit inflow to the sector and transformation of the whole rural economy must draw more attention from the policymakers.
In his speech, Planning Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said that the country has done “tremendously well” in developing agriculture sector in the last few years.
For a better land management, the minister said they have already undertaken a project that seeks to re-structure villages to increase arable land.
Planning Commission member Dr Shamsul Alam singled out “technological stagnancy” as the biggest problem facing the agriculture sector now, also citing high cost of doing business, middle-men menace and a “transport syndicate” for the low price of farm products at the farmers’ level.
“We’re now at the threshold of technological stagnancy in agriculture sector, for which our agricultural growth is not so high,” Dr Alam added.
The experts also felt the necessity of diversification of agriculture, saying that growing even potatoes can fetch more money than modern rice does if proper policy is in place.
CPD’s executive director Prof Mustafizur Rahman pointed out that Bangladesh now needs more genetically modified varieties of crops and their prices should be at the international level.
Prof MM Akash, Sajjad Zahir, Agriculture University Vice-chancellor Prof Raqibul Islam, BIDS researcher Kazi Shahabuddin Ahmed and CPD’s distinguished fellow Dr Debapriya Bhattacharya, among others, also spoke at the dialogue.