Agriculture in Bangladesh

The chapter demonstrates the declining trend of productivity in agriculture. It is observed that the post-green revolution period has experienced little technological advancement. On the other hand, the poor and marginal peasants and tenants comprising the majority of total farm population cannot afford the high cost of inputs and technologies. In addition, the declining trend in the availability of arable land causes the growth in agricultural sector to fall, despite higher cropping intensity. Moreover, the crop production has concentrated in only cereal products and the lack of variations in the output basket keeps food autarky at bay. Moreover, the use of technology in agriculture is yet to reach all steps and phases of the process of production. Most importantly, the so-called green revolution has been negatively impacting the sustainability of environment and nature at large. It is further argued that the sector is exhibiting gradual reduced contribution to the GDP, though having the highest number of people dependent on agriculture for employment, indicating a high rate of under-employment and inadequate labour absorption capacities of manufacturing and service sectors, highlighting a fragile structural transformation and concentration of poverty in rural areas.