Page 61 - IBT Sept 2021 (1)
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Agro Industry                                                                       REAPING
                                                                                                  THE BENEFITS





             percent—as opposed to manufacturing (7.5%)                                                                                    farmers has been replaced by some middle-men     Axial Flow Pumps Acceleration                                               Financial Innovation.
             and the services sector (6.2%).                                                                                               in recent years. In addition, this sector is
             Nevertheless, even though the relative                                                                                        hindered by extensive pressure on arable land,   The axial flow pump is an inexpensive surface water irrigation              Farmers tend to have fluctuating seasonal
             significance of income and employment from                                                                                    unjust prices, inadequate access to inputs and   technology that can lower costs up to 50 percent at areas                   revenue. Even though there are various
             agriculture has fallen in Bangladesh, the                                                                                     resources, and climate change risks.             where the water source is close to the field surface, and                   Microfinance Institutions (MFI), that support
             absolute contribution has increased. On                                                                                                                                        therefore is easy to pump up to irrigate fields.                            farmers in accessibility of farm equipment,
             average there has been a 40 percent increase                                                                                  Seasons of Challenge                                                                                                         and state-subsidized purchase options, there
             over the last few years. Additionally, a                                                                                                                                       Expediting Extraction                                                       exists no national organization or entity that
             significant fraction of the underprivileged rely                                                                              Vegetables, fruits and other perishable                                                                                      produces and sells machinery at below-market
             on agriculture as the principal source of                                                                                     agriproducts traders strongly believe that       Groundwater extraction is another common approach to                        prices. During peak planting season, the
             income and employment. Indirect agricultural                                                                                  Bangladesh can earn much more than $1            irrigation in much of South Asia. This low-energy and                       increased demand for machinery rentals
             dependence is revealed through employment in                                                                                  billion from agriproduct export and opine that   low-carbon emissions surface water substitute can assist in                 skyrockets significantly and this impacts
             agro-centric services and rural businesses.                                                                                   the country's optimal potential has been         lowering high energy costs, as well as, decreasing present                  eventual output.
             Moreover, Agriculture provides basic raw                                                                                      reached.                                         health risks due to natural arsenic contamination of
             materials for industrial processing and many                                                                                  Chief complaints arise in the area that          groundwater in Bangladesh.                                                  The Genetic Factor
             agro-processing industries are fully dependent                                                                                exporters do have the proper policies
             on agriculture for basic raw materials which      fruits, vegetables, tobacco, tea, cut flowers and also, spices.             assistance. Moreover, limited availability of    Reaping Success                                                             High-Yielding Varieties (HYV) are integral in    Geospatial Guardianship
             include jute, fruit juice, spices, rice milling,   Farmers through the Ages                                                   cargo space remains another hindrance to carry                                                                               securing cropping intensity, which is over
             sugar, tea, edible oil, tobacco, jute textiles,   According to the latest statistics from the 2016-2017 Labor                 out business activities internationally.         Reapers allow farmers to cope with increasing labor shortage                190%. They also are important in maintaining     Monitoring of farms and fisheries through satellite technology
             cotton textiles, starch and others which are      Force Survey by BBS, a total of 22.7 million people involved in             Exporters suggest that trade revenue will        by mechanically harvesting and planting the next season’s                   the output levels of integral crops such as      can assist in international compliance, as well as pave the way
             considered to be cash crops for the country. As   agriculture, 45% are women and of all women in the labor                    increase in Bangladesh from the agriculture      crops. The two-wheeled mechanical reaper is particularly                    Boro rice in the path towards sustainable        for online agro-insurance premiums verification (and
             such agriculture can serve as an influential      market, they constitute almost 73 percent                                   sector. The government individually or in        popular in Bangladesh and can save farmers 30 percent of                    self-sufficiency. Genetically Modified           payment) if coupled with artificial intelligence. This would
             driving force to not only increase livelihoods,   Bumper Crop                                                                 conjunction with the private sector can install   their usual harvesting costs.                                              Organisms (GMO) offer a solution to climate      bring in much needed insurance coverage to farmers without
             but also the whole economy of Bangladesh.                                                                                     more processing plants, packaging facilities,                                                                                change prone Bangladesh by engineering crop      long delays while also bringing increased confidence of
                                                               Rice production in Bangladesh was around 12 million metric                  packing houses, hygienic cargo villages,         Drilling Dividends                                                          varieties that are resistant to weather          international buyers.
                                                               tons in the late 1970s. It has now increased to more than 36                improved infrastructures at airports and more                                                                                conditions, pests, flooding and/or saline
             Bangladesh’s $1 Billion Export                    million metric tons. Wheat contributed nearly 2 million metric              air cargo facilities.                            Seed fertilizer drills till, plant and fertilize crops in lines             intrusion. Bangladesh’s first local GMO, Bt      Digital Crowdfunding
             Milestone                                         tons around just before the new century set in. The yield later             By contrast, according to local newspaper        concurrently and with greater accuracy. These drills are                    Brinjal, was launched in 2014 and a 2019
                                                               dwindled to nearly 700,000 million metric tons in around                    reports, officials at the Ministry of Agriculture   frequently used as attachments on two-wheeled tractors and               Institute of Food Policy Research (IFPRI) study   Enabling blockchain-enabled peer-to-peer lending would pave
             Bangladesh’s earnings from agricultural           2006-2007 while maize has steadily grown to around 3.5                                                                       can also allow farmers to plant using conservation agriculture              showed that Bt Brinjal farmers benefitted from   the way for a digital platform to facilitate crowdfunding of
             products grew multifold in the last 12 years      million metric tons by 2018-2019. Crops for which yield                     and Department of Agricultural Extension have    practices like strip tilling (a system that tills only small strips         a 55 percent rise in revenues, increasing net    farming activity so that farmers can find more funding
                                                                                                                                           stated that exporters need to improve product
             and the export revenue has crossed the            showed either a negative or stationary situation include                    quality, ensure sanitary measures and adopt      of land into which seed and fertilizer are placed, which                    profit by over BDT 30,000 per hectare.           channels.
             one-billion-dollar milestone for the first time in   pulses, sugarcane and possibly jute. In case of pulses, in early         good agricultural practices (GAP) to gain        reduces production costs, conserves soil moisture and helps
             2020-2021. This is astonishingly almost a 20%     1980s, the officially reported production was around 500,000                greater share of the business in international   boost yields).                                                                                                               More Gains for Marginalized
             rise from the past fiscal year, which is even     metric tons which fell to less than half of that in around                                                                                                                                               Upskilling Ahead
             more commendable given that we are facing a       2009-2010 before doubling again by 2017-2018. The other                     markets.                                         Tipping Point                                                                                                                Priority strategies in advocating agriculture include addressing
             sluggish economy under the COVID-19               commercial crop that has apparently shown volatility over                                                                                                                                                Labor needs to be mobilized and trained in the   shrinking average farm size and diseconomies of scale for
             pandemic.                                         time is jute.                                                               Innovation for Good                              According to studies, Total factor Productivity (TIP) reflects the          operation of technology to reap their benefits.   marginal farmers.
             Compared to 2008-2009 where agriculture           Fisheries Flow                                                              Undoubtedly the adoption of technological        impact of investments in rural infrastructure that grew at a                Otherwise availability of new tools without
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        users does not assist the average farmer.
             exports amounted to $122 million, the last                                                                                    innovation in agriculture will lead to improving   modest rate of 0.6 percent to 1.0 percent over a 50-year period                                                            Climate Change Capacity Building
             financial year witnessed export earnings          Based on official statistics of the Department of Fisheries, fish           cultivation efficiency, labor productivity,      from 1950 to 2000. TIP can be improved through expanding
             tripled to an extraordinary $1,028 growth.        production is stated to have been rising at around 5 percent                greater food security and quality exports.       farm size, promoting crop diversification and advanced                      Digital Markets and the                          Global climate change adaptation strategies to lower adverse
             According to the Export Promotion Bureau          annually over the last 20 years. The data shows that by                                                                      benefits through research and development.                                  Middle Man                                       impact on water availability, quality and disruptions could be
             (EPB) this represented a jump of 0.78% in         2017-2018 pond fishery yielded just above 19 lakh tons                                                                                                                                                                                                    adopted as policy interventions. There is a need to rehabilitate
             2008-09 to 2.87% in 2020-21 to the                accounting for some 44 percent of total fish production and                 Mechanization Miracles                                                                                                       Fair prices can be given to all concerned        coastal embankment and improve water efficiency through
             contribution of agriculture to the national       just about 79 percent of cultured fish catch.                               To mitigate the increasing droughts, flooding                                                                                parties if the middle-men are cut out. Hence     long-term water management strategies.
             exports earnings of Bangladesh.                   Rising Livestock and Poultry                                                and extreme weather events that Bangladesh is                                                                                online platforms can be encouraged to ensure
                                                               News outlets quote various sources that there may be                        facing due to climate change, rural                                                                                          buyers come in direct contact with sellers.      Media Momentum
 Bangladesh is primarily an agrarian economy,                  commercial poultry farms numbering anywhere between                         communities can evolve by adopting
 this industry is the single largest producing   Roots of Progress  65,000 and 150,000. The number of eggs produced per year is            innovative, localized solutions that merge                                                                                                                                    Media and community support and engagement has and can
 sector as 70% of the population depend on it for   This tremendous progress was driven by some   estimated to range from 20-33 million eggs/day, a difference   sustainable practices and tech. Mechanization                                                          IOT Induction                                    contribute to significant momentum to agriculture
 their livelihood. It contributes to 14% of the   sub-categories. Dry food registered the highest   greater than 50 percent. With the new generation increasingly   has various benefits that include an overall                                                        The Internet of Things (IoT) technologies can    revitalization and overall efficiency. This can lead to further
 50 Year Development  country's GDP and employs around 40% of the   increase from $193 million in 2019-20 to $283   involved in livestock trade especially keeping in annual Eid   increase in cropping intensity, yield, decrease                                      involve remote monitoring of conditions          promotion of agriculture as a contemporary entrepreneurship
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         track for the new generation value and also encouraging skills
 total labor force. 60 percent of overall
             in 2020-21, almost 46%. Fruit exports also
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        essential to farming output such as soil
                                                               markets there may be space for growth in the livestock
 of our Agro Sector  agricultural output comes from the crops   grew by 18%. However, not all sub-sectors   economy.                       in wastage, and saving in production cost in                                                                                 salinity, fertility, temperature, etc. through   development.
                                                                                                                                           comparison to traditional farming techniques.
 sub-sector, followed by fisheries and livestock.  flourished. vegetable exports faced a 27% drop                                                                                                                                                                       one device in the cropping zone, and             Celebrating the $1 billion exports earnings of agro-products on
 While developing economies are changing their   However, the contribution to total GDP fell from   from $164 million to $119 million.     Mechanization utilizes technologies like axial                                                                               transmission of that data to one or multiple     the silver jubilee of Bangladesh’s birth is indeed an
 concentration from agriculture to secondary and tertiary   around 18 percent to 14 percent in recent years.   Bangladesh’s now diversified agriproducts   Old Issues, New Packaging  flow pumps, reapers and seed drills – to assist                                   data terminals or computers. Data driven         extraordinary feat. However, with the right skilling, tech and
 sectors, the agricultural industry in Bangladesh is still a   For the past three decades the average growth of   export basket comprises a range of products   Even though the feudal zamindari system was done away with   farmers thrive under gradually difficult   monitoring can only assist cultivation and       policy support Bangladesh’s promising agriculture industry
 strong contributor to the economic statistics. As   the agriculture sector has hovered around 3.2   including ready-to-eat dry food confectionaries,   in the 1950s, the British form of exploitation of the poor   growing environments.                              production.                                      can reach greater milestones in the days ahead.
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