Agriculture in Bangladesh

Agriculture is the largest employment sector in Bangladesh, making up 14.2 percent of Bangladesh's GDP in 2017 and employing about 42.7 percent of the workforce.^[1] As of the financial year 2022 to 2023, the agricultural sector contributed to more than 12% of GDP.^[2] The performance of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic objectives like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development, food security, and other economic and social forces. A plurality of Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture. Due to a number of factors, Bangladesh's labour-intensive agriculture has achieved steady increases in food grain production despite the often unfavorable weather conditions.^[3] These include better flood control and irrigation, a generally more efficient use of fertilisers, as well as the establishment of better distribution and rural credit networks.^[3]

Although rice and jute are the primary crops, maize and vegetables are assuming greater importance.^[3] Due to the expansion of irrigation networks, some wheat producers have switched to cultivation of maize which is used mostly as poultry feed.^[3] Tea is grown in the northeast.^[3] There are 166 tea estates in Bangladesh, covering almost 280,000 acres of land. Bangladesh is the 9th largest Tea producer, producing around 2% of the world’s Tea production. Because of Bangladesh's fertile soil and normally ample water supply, rice can be grown and harvested three times a year in many areas.^[3] The country is among the top producers of rice (third), potatoes (seventh), tropical fruits (sixth), jute (second), and farmed fish (fifth).^[4][5] With 35.8 million metric tons produced in 2000, rice is Bangladesh's principal crop. As of 2024, it is expected that rice production in Bangladesh will exceed 37.7 million metric tons, an increase of nearly 700000 tons from last year. Bangladesh produces almost 5 metric tons of rice per hectare, making the country self sufficient in rice production.^[6][7][8] In comparison to rice, wheat output in 1999 was 1.9 million tonnes (1,900,000 long tons; 2,100,000 short tons).

Population pressure continues to place a severe burden on productive capacity, sometimes creating a food deficit, especially of wheat. Foreign assistance and commercial imports fill the gap. Underemployment remains a serious problem, and a growing concern for Bangladesh's agricultural sector will be its ability to absorb additional manpower.^[3] Finding alternative sources of employment will continue to be a daunting problem for future governments, particularly with the increasing numbers of landless peasants who already account for about half the rural labour force.^[3] Other challenges facing the sector include environmental issues: insecticides, water management challenges, pollution, and land degradation all effect the agricultural system in Bangladesh. Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to climate change, with extreme weather and temperature changes significantly changing the conditions for growing food. Adaptation of the agricultural sector is a major concern for policy addressing climate change in Bangladesh.