Despite 3rd in rice production, Bangladesh lags behind in productivity growth

Despite securing the third position globally in rice production, Bangladesh lags behind its South Asian neighbours in terms of productivity growth.

This revelation came at the conference on "Transformation of Bangladesh Agriculture: Kazi Badruddoza's Contribution" organised by the Bangladesh Agricultural Journalists Forum at the CIRDAP Auditorium in the capital on Monday.

In the keynote presentation, Professor Jahangir Alam, from the Agricultural Business and Marketing Department of Bangladesh Agricultural University, emphasised that while Bangladesh has made impressive strides in rice production, its productivity growth rate remains at a modest 1%. In contrast, China achieves a 3.7% growth rate, India 2.4%, Thailand and Vietnam 1.9%, Indonesia and Sri Lanka 1.8%, and Nepal 1.7%.

The primary cause of this productivity lag is attributed to Bangladesh's significant yield gap compared to neighbouring countries, he added.

In the context of rice production, productivity is measured as the amount of rice produced per hectare of land. The gap between the potential yield and the actual yield achieved by farmers is commonly referred to as the "yield gap."

 He further explained that climate change has been hindering production, with approximately 6.71 lakh acres of arable land left uncultivated. Given the uncertainty in global production due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, enhancing domestic food production becomes crucial to safeguard against global crises.

Recognising the contributions of agricultural scientist Kazi M Badruddoza, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque stated that Kazi Badruddoza had revolutionised traditional agriculture, marking the first transformation in Bangladesh's agriculture sector. Now, the nation must embark on a second transformation, involving the commercialization of agriculture through mechanisation, from paddy planting to threshing, as well as modernization through the processing of agricultural products.

 He further highlighted advancements in agriculture, citing the transformation from 2-3 maunds of paddy per bigha during the Aush season to over 21 maunds per bigha in the Boro season, thanks to fertilisers, improved rice varieties, and irrigation.

FH Ansari, President of ACI Agri-Business, underscored the significant contributions made by the private sector in advancing agricultural research in the country. Private investors have played a pivotal role in developing high-yielding wheat varieties, registering a 93% hybrid rice variety. Additionally, research is underway on more than 600 hybrids covering 45 different vegetables.

He also pointed out the challenges facing the agriculture sector in the future, such as increased humidity leading to new diseases, changing climate patterns with decreased rainfall and prolonged winters, rising temperatures, higher sea levels, and growing salinity.

He stressed the urgency of developing and expanding climate-smart crop varieties while narrowing the yield gap.

Despite its global ranking in rice production, Bangladesh is eager to enhance its productivity growth to align with the advancements seen in other nations.