Leveraging data science for rural development

File photo shows a farmer carrying rice paddy. Photo: TBS

The developed and developing nations of the world are increasingly turning to data science to drive development projects, improve agriculture, and aid decision-making in rural development and administration. 

In Bangladesh, data science holds immense potential to serve as a change agent, fostering growth in rural areas. Planned and strategic use of data science in agriculture and rural infrastructure can be a game changer, steering the nation towards becoming a developed economy.

Rural road and infrastructure planning

Consider a rural road. It is used by a good number of motorised and non-motorised vehicles. 

Think of the passengers, goods, and agricultural-nonagricultural products being carried. Think of the workshops that have evolved for the maintenance of motorised and non-motorised vehicles. Think of the motor parts being manufactured in local industries. Think of a widow who is selling cakes in a shop near the street. 

All the components stated here can generate huge employment and circulate considerable money in the rural economy if the road connects densely populated villages and other rural institutions. If not, the development cost of the road is draining out of public money. 

The previous government had a political campaign to connect all the villages and enhance civic amenities in the villages, but it did not get much funding and priority for their fascination with mega projects. 

But, to assist the nation in proper decision-making regarding growth-generating investment, we developed a magnificent pool of data regarding villages, populations, their connectivity, and the priority ranking of their connecting roads, considering a good number of relevant factors. 

With a separate program, LGED developed a database of traffic data on all the rural roads of the country. With this data, it is now easy to develop a growth-focused mindset in rural infrastructure development. Now, it is the political decision to utilise the data in the planning process and develop more growth-producing projects. 

Database of growth centres and hat bazar: Vibrant rural economy 

A few weeks ago, I was passing through a vibrant rural market in Raozan upazila, Chattogram. That market had a lease value of around Tk1 lakh last year, whereas the adjacent rural markets of other upazilas have a lease value of more than Tk1 crore. 

Raozan is an extreme example of political influence, but there are many examples in other upazilas where the lease value does not reflect the actual situation of the market. It is because of political influence and a lack of databases that it can properly assess the approximate income from the market and fix a minimum lease value of the market. 

With a technical assistance project under LGED, we developed a database of rural growth centres and markets with 36 indices for the first time. It includes information on connectivity, banking facilities, area, government land, adjacent private lands, shops, past developments, lease value of past years, major crops, etc. 

The database can be utilised as a decision-making tool to assess the lease value, fixing the priority for market development, employment generation, potential of future employment generation, etc. 

Bangladesh has 9340 registered hats and more than 10,000 unregistered hats. Utilisation of databases in decision-making can help the country earn increased and justified revenue from the rural markets as well as help in meticulous planning for future development. 

Bangladesh has 9340 registered hats and more than 10,000 unregistered hats. Utilization of databases in decision making can help the country to earn increased and justified revenue from the rural markets as well as help in meticulous planning for future development.

Capacity building of local government 

We see significant growth in the rural economy with mini-industries, poultry farms, dairy, fisheries, production of cash crops, etc. These businesses are thriving by utilising the rural roads and markets. 

But the rural people seldom pay the local taxes to the local governments. If the revenue for the Union Parishads cannot be generated, they will remain ill-performing. The game changer can be data science. 

With drone surveys, subsequent mapping, and data collection, all the households, industries, farms, and businesses can be mapped with adequate information to make a proper assessment of their holding tax. Then, the next step is to make them willing to pay. But a reliable database will make it easy to convince them to be willing to pay. 

My Village-My Town: The Pilot Village Development Project of LGED has taken the initiative to build the capacity of pilot unions by developing the database there with drone surveys, linking it with tax assessment, increasing revenue, and setting examples for the other unions of the country. 

Data Science in Agriculture: An Example of the Farmer Cooperatives of Japan

Compared to other ministries, the Ministry of Agriculture in Bangladesh has more innovations to guide the country in food security and adapting to climate change. The Department of Agriculture (DAE) and Soil Research Development Institute (SRDI) utilise data sciences on a limited scale. 

But, with their wide organisational set-up at the field level, the organisations can utilise more data sciences for an increase in production and quality by crop monitoring, precision agriculture, getting fair prices by the farmers for the products by data collection for crop planning, market demand analysis, and supply chain management and distribution support. 

Japan has state-of-the art technology to utilise data science in agriculture, where the 'Farmers Cooperatives' called 'Japan Agriculture(JA) have the leading role. I had the opportunity to visit, study, and experience their programs during 2009. 

It may not be easy to develop countrywide farmer cooperatives in Bangladesh within a short time, but the Department of Agriculture can take the lead at the primary stage in using appropriate data sciences in agriculture. 

Social security for the underprivileged, disabled population at the rural level 

Bangladesh spends a significant amount of budget every year for social security. But we often see in newspapers that the appropriate people are missing from the list. This is because of the lack of an appropriate database and linking the database with the appropriate authority. 

Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) has collected disability and underprivileged related information in the census, such as population and housing census (2022) and National Survey on Persons with Disabilities (2021). 

But the output of the survey is not appropriately followed by the agencies at the field level. There is a gap that leads to malfunctioning utilisation of the budget. Therefore, the relevant agencies and BBS can take the necessary steps to minimise the gap and make the database more functional. 

Drone survey, mapping, and linking it with other databases 

In developed countries, all the development plans and databases are linked with a master plan or development plan. Bangladesh has made little progress (so far, around 5% of all upazilas have a master plan) in master plan preparation at the rural level and does not have an institutional framework to utilise the master plan. 

The master plan already prepared for the upazilas is shelved without considerable use as there is a lack of institutional setup. It is not easy to prepare nationwide master plans for all the upazilas. 

It requires a huge cost and time. A rural master plan has many features and steps, but the most significant and basic step is drone survey and mapping. Drone surveys and mapping in all upazilas of Bangladesh can be executed with approximately 1200 crore BDT and five years of time. It can be done phase by phase, prioritising upazilas. 

The impact of this drone survey and mapping will be huge. It will work as a basic framework of database for all agencies as well as a basic element of the preparation of a master plan. 

LGED, BWDB, and RHD will be able to utilise it for better infrastructure planning. It can be utilised for restoration of canals, rivers, watershed management, flood control with vetiver-bioengineering, waste management, etc. 

All of these are issues of serious concern to develop climate resilience in the country. The Department of Agriculture Extension can use it for crop planning and related information. 

Union Parishads can utilise it for tax assessment. With some capacity building, the existing institutional setup can utilise the drone survey and maps and can link it with other databases. 

Moreover, it will be the basic element of preparation of the master plan for each upazila. Preparation of a master plan can be the medium-term plan, while drone surveying and mapping may be considered short-term. 

It is important to consider that preparation of the Master Plan, linking it with databases, and implementing the Master Plan should be the destination. 

For comparatively faster use of data sciences, drone mapping can be a good solution. With a small amount of budget compared to the big projects, this single step and related institutional development can lead the country towards more transparent and growth-generating development. 

Abul Monzur Md Sadeque. TBS Sketch

Abul Monzur Md Sadeque is a project director of LGED. 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and views of The Business Standard.