Bangladesh’s Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Rural Development Sector Assessment and Strategy

By Asian Development Bank

This country sector assessment shows how rapid economic growth and climate change are impacting Bangladesh’s agriculture, natural resources, and rural development sector, and outlines ways the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is helping foster greater food security. With agriculture generating over 40% of jobs, it analyzes changing demand patterns, shows how the pandemic and food price rises have hit the sector, and explores how increasing production and adding value can help reduce rural poverty. It outlines how ADB is focusing on deepening value chains and agricultural commercialization, plus improving rural connectivity and natural resource management, to help improve livelihoods and bolster resilient rural development.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Asian Development Bank
• Release date: Mar 1, 2023
• ISBN: 9789292700515

Book preview

BANGLADESH’S AGRICULTURE, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT SECTOR ASSESSMENT AND STRATEGY

MARCH 2023

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 IGO license (CC BY 3.0 IGO)

© 2023 Asian Development Bank

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Some rights reserved. Published in 2023.

ISBN 978-92-9270-050-8 (print); 978-92-9270-051-5 (electronic); 978-92-9270-052-2 (ebook)

Publication Stock No. TCS230050

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.22617/TCS230050

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) or its Board of Governors or the governments they represent.

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Notes:

In this publication, $ refers to United States dollars.

ADB recognizes Korea as the Republic of Korea.

The fiscal year (FY) of the Government of Bangladesh ends on 30 June. FY before a calendar year denotes the year in which the fiscal year ends, e.g., FY2022 ends on 30 June 2022.

An agricultural system that increases productivity and value addition and is sustainable and climate resilient will contribute to poverty reduction, food security, and continued structural transformation of the economy.

(All photos are from ADB).

Cover design by Maro de Guzman.

Contents

Figures and Boxes

Acknowledgments

This country sector assessment was prepared by a team comprising South Asia Environment and Natural Resources (SAER) Division staff Andrew Brubaker, Bakhodir Mirzaev, and Mafalda Pinto. Consultant Arun Saha in Bangladesh supported the team in preparing the document. Consultant Mahfuzuddin Ahmed provided strategic and technical advice on the draft assessment. South Asia Department (SARD) colleagues in other sector divisions and the Private Sector Operations Department (PSOD) provided important background and contextual information for better assessing and identifying crosscutting agriculture and natural resources investment opportunities supporting an integrated Asian Development Bank (ADB) approach. SAER staff Olivier Drieu, Sunae Kim, Sanath Ranawana, and Lance Gore and colleagues from the Bangladesh Resident Mission (BRM) Soon Chan Hong, Pushkar Srivastava, Amrita Kumar Das, and Nasheeba Selim provided valuable inputs and background information at the early stages of the assessment and commented on the final draft assessment. The Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department’s Rural Development and Food Security, Climate Change, and Water Thematic Groups made important contributions and insights as reviewers. The team worked under the guidance of Director Mio Oka, who initiated the assessment.

The team would like to give special thanks to BRM and PSOD staff, especially Mohammed Sayeed Haque, Bidyut Saha, and Edwin Enriquez David, who provided data and other information on ADB’s sovereign and nonsovereign portfolio, and to SARD Climate Change Decision Support System team (Denver G. Vender) and the Manila Observatory (Celine Vicente) for the preparation of maps on the estimate of crops affected by droughts and floods in Bangladesh.

The team also acknowledges the support from government officials, development partners, research institutes, and other country representatives who made themselves available for consultations held virtually due to travel restrictions associated with coronavirus disease.a

Abbreviations

Executive Summary

This country sector assessment (CSA) considers the context and issues facing the agriculture, natural resources, and rural development (ANR) sector in Bangladesh; it also identifies needs and opportunities for Asian Development Bank (ADB) support. Our findings inform the bank’s ANR strategy for Bangladesh. This CSA reviews (i) sector performance, including constraints and opportunities; (ii) government policies, strategies, and plans for the sector;