🇧🇩 Agriculture in Bangladesh

[Saif]

Agriculture product exports rise in July-Sept

Bangladesh’s agricultural product exports in the July-September period of the financial year 2024-25 increased slightly while the shipment of vegetables witnessed a sharp decline in the period...

www.newagebd.net

Agriculture product exports rise in July-Sept
Staff Correspondent 13 October, 2024, 23:02

A file photo shows farmers collecting cucumbers from a field at village Subachani in Munshiganj. Bangladesh’s agricultural product exports in the July-September period of the financial year 2024-25 increased slightly while the shipment of vegetables witnessed a sharp decline in the period. | Focusbangla photo

Bangladesh’s agricultural product exports in the July-September period of the financial year 2024-25 increased slightly while the shipment of vegetables witnessed a sharp decline in the period.

Exporters said that the country’s vegetables export faced trouble in the past three years due to increased freight costs.

They also expressed hope that the exports would gain in the coming months as the freight costs started decreasing.

According to Export Promotion Bureau data, Bangladesh’s agricultural product exports in the first quarter of FY25 increased by 3.18 per cent to $264.76 million compared with those of $256.61 million in the same period of FY24.

The EPB data showed that Bangladesh’s vegetables exports in July-September of FY25 decreased by 63.68 per cent to $17.21 million compared with those of $47.38 million in the same period of fY24.

‘We the vegetables exporters have been struggling with the growing freight costs for more than three years,’ Mohammad Monsur, chairman of the FBCCI standing committee on import and export of fruits and vegetables, told New Age on Sunday.

He also identified lack of adequate cargo space for perishable goods, shortage of scanners at the country’s airports and increased production costs of agricultural products as the other reasons for declining vegetables exports.

Monsur, however, said that the shipment of vegetables increased slightly in the past one month as the freight costs started decreasing.

In the first quarter of the FY25, export earnings from agricultural products showed a positive growth due to the increased shipment of fruits, he said.

The government data showed that the country’s fruits exports in July-September of FY25 increased by 472.76 per cent to $16.61 million compared with those of $2.90 million in the same period of the previous financial year.

Export earnings from dry food in the period increased by 7.71 per cent to $51.41 million.

Monsur said that Bangladesh had struggled to capture its potential market share for vegetable exports in key markets such as the United Kingdom, Australia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

He said that competitor countries, including India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, were able to send low-cost vegetables with lower freight costs, putting Bangladesh at a disadvantage situation.​

 

[Saif]

How an energy transition can secure our food production

The growing energy intensity of an increasingly mechanised agriculture sector brings together food and energy in a delicate nexus.

www.thedailystar.net

How an energy transition can secure our food production

Energy intensity of the agriculture sector has been going on over several decades, spurred by both market forces and supportive government policy. FILE PHOTO: STAR

The economic shift and modernisation in Bangladesh have brought about a demographic transition and impacted the country's energy sector, agriculture and labour market. Due to a steady urban migration trend, the rural population growth declined since 2015, and the share of rural population has fallen from 76 percent in 2000 to 60 percent of the total population in 2022 (World Bank, 2024). Fertility has dropped remarkably with the current annual population growth rate being 1.1 percent. Besides, a study published in The Lancet indicates that the country's population will reach half the current level by the end of the century (Vollset et al, 2020).

At the same time, sustained economic growth is projected to boost energy consumption. According to the Centre for Economics and Business Research, Bangladesh will become the 20th biggest economy in the world by 2037, leading to an increase in energy demand from higher industrial productivity and consumer spending. The shifts in demographic structure and projected economic growth have important implications for energy consumption, food production and land use that must be considered holistically.

The first implication is the decline in the rural labour force, particularly in the agriculture sector. The share of the labour force of the country employed in the agriculture sector has fallen from 61 percent in 2000 to 37 percent in 2022 (World Bank, 2024). While the share of the population employed in agriculture is still quite high compared to the falling contribution of this sector to the GDP (Byron, 2023), the remedy to this low-value addition is to increase mechanisation in agriculture to increase the productivity per worker, along with their earnings potential. Indeed, the mechanisation and energy intensity of the agriculture sector has been going on over several decades, spurred by both market forces and supportive government policy. The government has been subsidising diesel and agricultural machinery and allowing tax-free imports of the machinery. With rising prices of scarce agricultural labour, farmers turn to machinery, particularly during the short and busy harvesting season. The mechanisation of agriculture also increases food security by reducing crop spoilage, as it allows emergency rapid harvesting of crops before the onset of floods or other adverse climate events, especially in the Haor areas of Sylhet. The scope of mechanisation encompasses tillage, weeding, seeding, spraying, rice transplanting, harvesting, threshing, winnowing, and of course irrigation, all of which depended on diesel-fuelled machinery. This market is constantly increasing, and along with it the demand for fuel and electricity. The agriculture sector has emerged as the second biggest consumer of petroleum, after the transport sector.

The growing energy intensity of an increasingly mechanised agriculture sector brings together food and energy in a delicate nexus. The threat to food security from interruptions to global supply chains was identified during Covid, and this caused the government to increase subsidies for agricultural machinery (Bhuyan, 2020). Moreover, following the onset of the Ukraine war, the prices of petroleum products in the global market have increased, leading to rising prices of natural gas-based fertilisers and increasing the cost of food production (Baffes and Koh, 2022). The global energy supply disruptions revealed how threats to energy security can affect food production from two angles, firstly by increasing the cost of energy-intensive mechanised processes in agriculture, and secondly by increasing the cost of fertilisers that are necessary to increase crop yield. Around six percent of the total gas consumed in Bangladesh is by the fertiliser industry, as per a 2023 report by the power, energy and mineral resources ministry.

Given the close food-energy nexus, food security now hinges on self-sufficiency in energy supply. Diversifying the energy mix of Bangladesh by making it less dependent on imported fuels can promote food security. This is where renewable energy can play a crucial role. Renewable energy could contribute to securing the food-energy nexus and reduce economic risks in several ways. Renewable power plants—after the initial one-off capital investment in plant machinery and equipment—can generate electricity using natural energy sources like solar or wind energy without requiring the input of costly fuels. More renewable power also means scarce gas resources can instead be used for the fertiliser industry.

Bangladesh has significant potential for solar and wind energy, and these can promote energy security and also contribute to food security. Renewable energy resources like solar power require land use, and Bangladesh has restrictions regarding the use of agricultural land for other purposes. However, energy-intensive mechanised agriculture can actually increase crop productivity even in limited agricultural land. Research has demonstrated that energy poverty can hamper agricultural productivity, directly by reducing mechanisation, and indirectly by diverting the rural workforce to other sectors which enjoy more energy input (Shi et al, 2022).

Energy and food production are not competing but rather complementary objectives. With proper and careful planning, energy transition combined with food security considerations can help both climate change mitigation and national adaptation. It is therefore imperative to have a clear strategic direction for the food-energy nexus to harness their synergy for the sustainable socio-economic development of the country.

Shahriar Ahmed Chowdhury is the director of Centre for Energy Research at United International University.​

 

[Saif]

Need for speedy disbursement of farm loan

The news that loan disbursement for agriculture has registered a 27 per cent fall is quite concerning. Much as the reason behind the decline in the disbursement of farm loan may be strong, any reversal in agricultural output due to this will only lead to an undesirable food status for the country.

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Need for speedy disbursement of farm loan
FE
Published :
Oct 30, 2024 22:17
Updated :
Oct 30, 2024 22:17

The news that loan disbursement for agriculture has registered a 27 per cent fall is quite concerning. Much as the reason behind the decline in the disbursement of farm loan may be strong, any reversal in agricultural output due to this will only lead to an undesirable food status for the country. Agriculture is one area that has worked wonder thanks to a cumulative effort by both agricultural scientists and an equally appreciable response by farmers to rise up to the challenge. The country now produces about 40 million metric tonnes of rice--- the main staple of the population---a phenomenal increase from 16.8 million in 1995. Although the official figures are suspect, there is no doubt that agriculture has achieved near self-sufficiency in the production of paddy. But it is the diversity in crop production and greater success in other agri-food sector that have made a difference in food and nutrition availability for its people. Its total agricultural output including the major crops, vegetables and fruits now stands at about 72 million tonnes.

So, any assumption that delayed extension of agricultural loan will not affect the cultivation of boro that is yet to begin is misplaced. Many farmers have shifted to commercial farming of cash crops and even exotic fruits because they earn more profit from those than from paddy. Cultivation of vegetables and fruits goes round the year and if they cannot go for early cultivation and harvesting of their crops, their profit declines. This year's prolonged floods have caused an unprecedented farming adversity in many areas. But there are other areas not affected by floods where farmers must not be given any reason to rue over the missed opportunity because of the late disbursement of farm credit. Even in some affected areas where water has receded quickly, the inundation has brought special opportunities for farmers to go about their cultivation of choice crops. They deserve farm loans on a priority basis.

Let it be noted here that compared to crop production, other areas of agri-food sector have, of late, grown at higher rates. Against 2.9 per cent of annual growth of crop, livestock has grown at 3.9 per cent and the fisheries and forestry have surged to more than 5.0 per cent growth a year. The floods that ravaged Sylhet, Noakahli and Cumilla ended up causing irreparable damage to livestock there. Cattle and buffaloes were washed away and farmers had to dispose of their domestically raised chickens and ducks cheaply. Without financial support they cannot piece together their means of livelihoods on top of their annual staple production.

The fact is if the country's farmers survive, the nation also survives. They have so long successfully fed the nation and they must be given financial support including farm loans in order to rebuild their occupation and life. Some industries have received overriding incentive packages which may have served the interests of the more privileged but at the same time contributed to social inequality. Farmers' requirements need to be prioritised in the interest of the country's food security. Increasing natural calamities including the latest cyclonic storm Dana under which the standing Aman paddy has been badly affected in many areas are a pointer that the farming community needs all kinds of support including technological, consultative and infrastructural.​

 

[Saif]

Govt raises paddy, rice purchase rates for current Aman season

The government will pay higher prices to buy paddy and rice during the current Aman season, the harvest of which has already begun in rural areas.

www.thedailystar.net

Govt raises paddy, rice purchase rates for current Aman season

The government procurement process for the current Aman harvest will begin on November 17 and continue until mid-March. The photo was taken from Islampur village of Tetulia in Panchagarh on Tuesday. Photo: Habibur Rahman

The government will pay higher prices to buy paddy and rice during the current Aman season, the harvest of which has already begun in rural areas.

Amid rice prices edging up in local markets and concerns over the paddy output, this decision was made by the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC) yesterday.

Farmers will receive Tk 33 per kilogramme for paddy if they supply the grain to public warehouses following specific quality standards. This price is 10 percent higher than what they received for selling their produce to the food directorate during the previous Aman procurement.

Besides, the government will purchase parboiled rice, the most widely consumed grain in Bangladesh, from millers at a 7 percent higher rate of Tk 47 per kilogramme.

This decision comes at a time when staple food prices have been rising, exceeding last year's levels. There is also concern about reduced Aman yields due to decreased cultivation areas and crop damage caused by repeated flooding in the eastern region.

Yesterday, the FPMC, an inter-ministerial committee responsible for monitoring the country's overall food situation and advising on food security policies, decided to purchase 3.5 lakh tonnes of paddy this season.

Finance and Commerce Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed chaired the meeting at the secretariat.

This target is 75 percent higher than the original purchase of 2 lakh tonnes during the Aman harvest in 2023.

However, the government has reduced its parboiled rice purchase plan for this year to 5.5 lakh tonnes, a 14 percent decrease from the 6.4 lakh tonnes bought by the Directorate General of Food during the previous Aman season.

Besides, the food ministry will purchase 1 lakh tonnes of sunned rice this year at Tk 45 per kilogramme.

The procurement process for the current Aman harvest will begin on November 17 and continue until mid-March, according to a statement from the food ministry.

The food ministry purchased 21.6 lakh tonnes of rice domestically in FY24, an 11.3 percent increase from the previous year.

During the current FY25, the government has a food budget to procure 19.33 lakh tonnes from domestically grown food grains out of its total procurement plan of 29.83 lakh tonnes, according to the finance ministry.

The government has allocated Tk 16,678 crore to buy rice and wheat from the domestic and international markets to carry out various social safety net schemes.

The allocation to buy food grains is 6 percent higher from the revised budget of the previous year.​