The role of multilateral agencies in Bangladesh's agriculture

Just after its emergence in 1971, Bangladesh encountered a seemingly impossible-to-topple hurdle of providing the newly liberated 70 million people with adequate food supply. The farmers, who had fought for Bangladesh's independence, were struggling to cope with post-war life while most of the state-run sectors, including agriculture, remained devastated. 

During that critical period, as pre-independent Bangladesh suffered a cyclone in November 1970 and crop failure in the monsoon of 1972, the country's food basket was almost empty. To avoid a more severe situation, post-independent Bangladesh required foreign aid to manage its food grain shortage to the tune of some 15 million tonnes. 

But after five decades, Bangladesh is no longer a foreign aid-dependent country. The country has attained self-sufficiency in some food production, including rice, while growth in other sub-sectors of agriculture have also been remarkable. 

According to experts, progress has been possible due to agricultural reforms and Bangladesh has done this herculean job with support from some multilateral agencies. 

There are two types of multilateral agencies working in Bangladesh: United Nations' specialised agencies like the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and research organisations under the Consultancy Group of International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). 

"The organisations work in close collaboration with the Bangladesh government. Besides farmers and agriculturists, I believe, the multilateral organisations have played a great role in shaping the present agriculture of Bangladesh. They are among the major stakeholders in the country's agriculture," said Dr Mohammad Jahangir Alam, a professor of Agribusiness and Marketing at Bangladesh Agricultural University.

Let us start the discussion with the role of FAO, which was one of the first international agencies that extended considerable assistance to Bangladesh for relief and rehabilitation during the immediate post-liberation period. 

FAO has been leading international assistance, namely technology transfer, in the revolution of Bangladesh's agriculture. 

Resuming work in 1974 in Bangladesh, FAO made remarkable contribution in Bangladesh's agriculture, particularly in establishment of 30 agro ecological zones, Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA), the regional rural development organisation CIRDAP, and strengthening food safety and security through the Country Investment Plan (CIP), the Agriculture Sector Transformation Plan and Digital Village Initiative, among others.

"Soil classification and formation of agro-ecological zones are among FAO's important contributions to Bangladesh's agriculture. FAO first introduced the Farmer Field Schools concept in the country and later, the concept was upheld by the Department of Agricultural Extension," said Anil Kumar Das, national consultant (programme) at FAO, Bangladesh. 

Bangladesh got membership of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at the inception of the organisation in 1977, and received IFAD's first loan to implement the Pabna Irrigation and Rural Development project.

Bangladesh is one of the largest portfolios of IFAD, with a cumulative portfolio amounting to $2.3 billion. Currently, IFAD is financing utilisation of all available pieces of land for cultivation through homestead vegetable gardening. Moreover, IFAD supports capacity building of the farmers with new tools of post-harvest techniques and primary processing so that post-harvest losses are minimised. 

The Microfinance for Marginal and Small Farmers Project, Char Development and Settlement Project, Coastal Climate Resilient Infrastructure Project, and the Promoting Agricultural Commercialization and Enterprises Project are among the noteworthy initiatives supported by IFAD. 

International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has inherited a close relationship with Bangladesh since the 1960s. In 1965, a set of 303 rice varieties was evaluated at the government-run Savar Dairy Farm and two years later, the high-yielding rice variety IR8 was introduced to the country.

IRRI-supported rice research and farming innovations have greatly boosted Bangladesh's rice productivity.  IRRI has helped breed genetically-improved rice varieties including climate-smart ones. Farm mechanisation and supporting public-private partnerships in developing rice seed systems and breeding are among IRRI's remarkable contributions to Bangladesh's agriculture. 

"IRRI's contributions, in particular to capacity building of Bangladesh's rice researchers, are remarkable," Professor Alam said. 

IRRI's work in Bangladesh is currently supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), IFAD, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Krishi Gobeshona Foundation (KGF) Bangladesh, and the CGIAR funds.

In the policy research field under the wide umbrella of CGIAR, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) maintains a longstanding partnership with the Bangladesh government and local research organisations. 

The success of the IFPRI-Bangladesh government partnership led to reforms in fertiliser subsidies and food grain rationing. This partnership also helped formulate the Bangladesh Policy Research and Strategy Support Programme for Food Security and Agricultural Development, IFPRI's biggest project ever in Bangladesh. 

CIMMYT is another organisation under the CGIAR umbrella, that is fostering improved quantity, quality, and dependability of production systems and basic cereals such as maize and wheat through applied agricultural science.

Since 1988, the International Potato Center or CIP, a CGIAR partner, has had a remarkable presence in Bangladesh. CIP supports mainly crop variety development, crop enhancement, pest and disease management and value chain development. CIP has contributed to the release of more than 15% of the new potato varieties and 50% of sweet potato varieties released by BARI and BAU.

Soon after Bangladesh's independence, USAID, together with other donors, supported food policy dialog and subsequent reforms, using a variety of assistance mechanisms. Currently, USAID trains farmers and commercial producers to adopt new techniques that improve productivity in aquaculture, livestock, horticulture, rice, maize, pulses, oilseeds, flowers, and natural fibres. The USAID programme also connects farmers to a buyer-linked value chain. These connections help farmers increase their sales opportunities across the domestic and international markets. 

USAID has also invested in Bangladesh to leverage public-private partnerships to upgrade local feeder roads and crop collection centres so producers can transport commodities to markets more effectively. 

Japan International Cooperation Authority (JICA) provides Bangladesh with assistance to develop rural infrastructure including road network and market, besides linking Japanese experts to introduce a substantial number of high-yield varieties of crops and vegetables in Bangladesh. 

With JICA assistance, around 4,000km rural roads are now connected to markets located at some upazila headquarters. This development contributes to accelerate the rural economy including the agricultural supply-chain. JICA also supported establishing the Institute of Postgraduate Studies in Agriculture at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Agricultural University. In collaboration with the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, JICA supported the development of almost 40 new breeds of rice.