CHAPTER - ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Introductory Background

A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing semi aquatic rice. Paddy
cultivation should not be confused with cultivation of deep water rice, which is grown in
flooded conditions with water more than 50 cm (20 in) deep for at least a month. Genetic
evidence shows that all forms of paddy rice, both indica and japonica, spring from a
domestication of the wild rice Oryza rufipogon that first occurred 8,20013,500 years ago
South of the Yangtze River in present-day China.

However, the domesticated indicia subspecies currently appears to be a product of the

introgression of favorable alleles from japonica at a later date, so that there are possibly
several events of cultivation and domestication. Paddy fields are the typical feature of rice
farming in east, south and Southeast Asia.

Fields can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped
features such as rivers or marshes. They can require a great deal of labor and materials to
create, and need large quantities of water for irrigation. Oxen and water buffalo, adapted for
life in wetlands, are important working animals used extensively in paddy field farming.

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During the 20th century, paddy-field farming became the dominant form of growing rice. Hill
tribes of Thailand still cultivate dry-soil varieties called upland rice. Paddy field farming is
practiced in Asia, namely in Cambodia, Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, Iran,
Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri
Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos, and in Europe, Northern Italy, the Camargue in France,
and in Spain, particularly in the Albufera de Valncia wetlands in the Valencian Land, the
Ebre Delta in Catalonia and the Guadalquivir wetlands in Andalusia, as well as along the
eastern coast of Brazil, the Artibonite Valley in Haiti, and Sacramento Valley in California,
among other places.

Paddy fields are a major source of atmospheric methane and have been estimated to
contribute in the range of 50 to 100 million tones of the gas per annum. Studies have shown
that this can be significantly reduced while also boosting crop yield by draining the paddies
to allow the soil to aerate to interrupt methane production. Studies have also shown the
variability in assessment of methane emission using local, regional and global factors and
calling for better inventorisation based on micro level data. The word "paddy" is derived from
the Malay word padi, rice plant.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

This paper has been prepared from the corner of two objectives are as follows:

1.2.1 Primary objective

To know the impact of paddy field on social - Economic condition on Bangladesh.
To give a concrete idea about the paddy field activities of Bangladesh through
cultivating different rices.

1.2.2 Secondary Objective

To know about paddy field of Bangladesh.
To know the present, past and potential or future prospect of paddy sector in
Bangladesh.
To know about the cultivation system of rice from paddy field.
To know the challenges facing Bangladesh in paddy sector.

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It is known to all that, importing more goods and services than exporting for an economy
have continuous bad effect on its real growth. On the other hand, study of paddy field
provides a greater learning opportunity about varieties terms, policies, rules of export and
import, products, opportunities as well as the paths for rice expansion throughout the world
for maximizing profit. We strongly hope that our paper will provide lot accurate and useful
information that will help those who want to get an idea on paddy sector of Bangladesh.

1.3 Specific Purpose of the Study

In this Term Paper, we have discussed the performance of growth, impact and trends of
Paddy field of Bangladesh. This paper has been made to show the main purpose that is as
follows:

To know the effects of farming practices on earthworm density in paddy field.

To determine the role of earthworms on methane emission from paddy field

1.4 Rationale of the Study

The demand for rice is constantly rising in Bangladesh with nearly 2.3 million people being
added each year to its population of about 120 million. Rice production increases must be
achieved at a faster rate than in most other countries, while the land planted to rice is not
expanding. In addition, Bangladesh is faced with production constraints such as drought, lack
of irrigation facilities, flooding and salinity of soils, coupled with fluctuating commercial rice
prices.

Yet, rice is central to Bangladeshs economy and agriculture, accounting for nearly 18
percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and providing about 70 percent of an average
citizens total calorie intake. The rice area totals about 10 million ha and accounts for 75
percent of the total area of agricultural crops, and 93 percent of the total area planted to
cereals. The rice sector is by far the most important provider of rural employment.

Due to the increase in population, the average farm size has declined from 1.43 ha in 1961 to
0.87 ha in 1994. The average rice yield remains low at about 2.7 t/ha. Although substantial
rice production growth was achieved during the 1976-93 period, growth since then has been

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negligible. This is mainly due to continued drought in most areas and excessive monsoon
flooding in parts of the country.

Future growth in rice production will have to come from expansion of irrigated areas, use of
new high-yielding varieties, more fertilizer input, and improved crop management practices.

To achieve such growth, a key factor will be research carried out in collaboration with the
International Rice Research Institute. Bangladeshs research link with IRRI goes back more
than 30 years. In 1966, the government of what was then East Pakistan emphasized rice
research within the Cereals Section of the Agricultural Research Laboratory Tejgaon, Dhaka,
and began collaborative research to test rice lines from IRRI. In 1967, IR8, the first widely
distributed semi dwarf rice variety, was introduced into the country.

The one-million hectares of coastal rice lands, with varying degrees of salinity, offer an
opportunity for future exploitation. Use of new biotechnology tools and products, and
adoption of hybrid rice technology, will be needed in the future to raise and maintain yields
in the irrigated ecosystem. An overall economic environment that provides economic
incentives to farmers for higher rice production should be maintained. At the same time,
production costs will have to be reduced to make rice cultivation in Bangladesh
internationally competitive.

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 CHAPTER - TWO
CONCEPTUAL ISSUE

2.1 Rice production in Bangladesh

Rice production in Bangladesh is a crucial part of the national economy. The dominant food
crop of Bangladesh is rice, accounting for about 75 percent of agricultural land use (and 28
percent of GDP). Rice production increased every year in the 1980s (through 1987) except
FY 1981, but the annual increases have generally been modest, barely keeping pace with the
population. Rice production exceeded 15 million tons for the first time in FY 1986.

In the mid-1980s, Bangladesh was the fourth largest rice producer in the world, but its
productivity was low compared with other Asian countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
It is currently the world's sixth-largest producer. High yield varieties of seed, application of
fertilizer, and irrigation have increased yields, although these inputs also raise the cost of
production and chiefly benefit the richer cultivators.

The cultivation of rice in Bangladesh varies according to seasonal changes in the water
supply. The largest harvest is AMAN, occurring in November and December and accounting
for more than half of annual production. Some rice for the AMAN harvest is sown in the
spring through the broadcast method, matures during the summer rains, and is harvested in

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the fall. The higher yielding method involves starting the seeds in special beds and
transplanting during the summer monsoon.

The second harvest is AUS, involving traditional strains but more often including high-
yielding, dwarf varieties. Rice for the AUS harvest is sown in March or April, benefits from
April and May rains, matures during in the summer rain, and is harvested during the summer.
With the increasing use of irrigation, there has been a growing focus on another rice-growing
season extending during the dry season from October to March. The production of this
BORO rice, including high-yield varieties, expanded rapidly until the mid-1980s, when
production leveled off at just below 4 million tons.

2.2 Literature Review

Bangladesh is an agrarian country. About 76% of the people live in rural areas, and 47.5% of
the total manpower is involved in agriculture. In Bangladesh, agriculture contributes 19.3%
of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the country (Bangladesh Finance Bureau, 2014).
Bangladesh has a long history of rice cultivation. Rice is grown throughout the country
except in the southeastern hilly areas. The agro climatic conditions of the country are suitable
for growing rice year-round. However, the national average rice yield is much lower (2.94
t/ha) than that of other rice-growing countries. Rice is the staple food for about 156 million
people of the country.

The population growth rate is 2 million per year, and if the population increases at this rate,
the total population will reach 238 million by 2050. An increase in total rice production is
required to feed this ever-increasing population. At the same time, the total cultivable land is
decreasing at a rate of more than 1% per year owing to the construction of industries,
factories, houses, roads, and highways. In these circumstances, policies should be
implemented to increase rice production in a sustainable manner for the food and nutritional
security of this highly populated country. Agro climatic conditions: rainfall and temperature
Bangladesh has a tropical climate with considerable variation in climatic parameters, such as
temperature and rainfall. The total area of the country is 14.86 million ha (147,570 square
kilometers), and the cultivable area is 8.52 million ha. The cropping intensity of the country
is 191%.

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The country receives plenty of rainfall, although it is not evenly distributed across region or
season. The average annual rainfall is about 2,320 mm and varies between 1,110 mm in the
northwest and 5,690 mm in the northeast. Most of the rains occur during the monsoon season,
between mid-June and September (Fig. 1A). There is very little rain between November and
March, and the period between April and May has pre-monsoon rain with thunderstorms.
Bangladesh has distinct summer and winter seasons. Maximum summer temperatures range
between 3541C during the months of April and May. In May 2014, the temperature
reached 42.5C, the highest temperature recorded in 60 years. December to February are the
cooler months with average daily temperatures of around 1520C and night temperatures of
1012C. However, in north, the temperature drops below 10C.

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 CHAPTER - THREE
DATABASE

3.1 Data Collection

This research is basically descriptive in nature and from the secondary sources. Keeping the
background and the specific objectives in mind, related available information have been
collected through mainly secondary sources during the process which is utilized for finding
useful information on trading of Bangladesh.

Sources of primary data:

The clusters are visited 4 times a year. The acreages of different rices and other utilizations
in each cluster are recorded by the field staff in prescribed forms. Selected sample clusters are
visited four times in a year and rice-cutting experiment are conducted in due time to estimate
the major rices production of Bangladesh. A well-defined Rice Calendar is followed to
collect data in the field level throughout the year. The collected data is processed, compiled at
head office. The findings are disseminated after approval of competent authority.

The Annual Agricultural Estimation System

The annual agricultural statistics system is designed to:
Prepare estimate of acreage, yield per acre and production for rices grown in the
country;
Estimate of rice damages caused by floods, cyclonic storms and other natural
calamities;
Prepare monthly agriculture labor wage rate based on monthly agriculture labor wage
survey.
Prepare annual land utilization and irrigation statistics by districts. Prepare Irrigation
statistics of different
Rices and rice details. and
Compile the Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics, an annual publication of BBS;
.
Sources of Secondary Data:
Official websites of BRRI.

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 Official websites of Planning ministry as well as concerned websites of government
and its agencies.
Agricultural Journals.
Bangladesh agricultural Portals.
Others websites related with agriculture, economics and banking industry of
international and domestic level.

3.2 Limitations of the Study

The paper has focused mainly on limited items of exported and imported products of
Bangladesh. Some limiting factors were faced while conducting process for preparing the
report. These factors are as follows:

Time was really critical factor for us to accomplish this report.

We could not gather whole information of paddy sector equally standard from the

prospect of this report.

We have found it so critical to summarize information from different sources because

of some lack of understanding to this process though tried best with our level.

We have found some data and information (year of 2014 as well as 2015) to the

different websites dissimilar from commerce ministry of Bangladesh government which

has led us to be confused on some particular term of agriculture of Bangladesh.

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 CHAPTER - FOUR
FINDINGS & ANALYSIS

4.1 Rice Sector in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is the fourth-largest rice producer. In spite of the decline in the countrys arable
land since its independence in 1971, the rice area harvested increased from almost 10 million
ha in 1995 to nearly 12 million ha in 2014. Rice yield also improved in the last decade, from
a low of 2.7 t/ha in 1995 to almost 4.3 t/ha in 2015. These increases in rice yield and area
harvested contributed to growth in rice production, which nearly doubled from over 26
million t in 1995 to 50 million t in 2015.

Rice is the staple food of Bangladeshs 149 million people. Average annual milled rice
consumption was 173.3 kg in 2009. The daily per capita calorie intake from rice has been
falling, from 74.8% of total calories in 1995 to 69.6% in 2009. Rices contribution to per
capita protein intake also fell, from 65.3% to 56.2%, in the same period.

Bangladesh has been increasing rice production over many years and is now relatively self-
sufficient in rice production. The countrys rice imports declined from about 1 million t in
1995 to a mere 0.017 million t in 2009 but increased to 0.66 million t in 2010. Exports of rice
began in the 2000s. Some rice is still imported, however, mainly to control domestic prices.

Major rice policies have been implemented by the government to increase production and to
reduce imports. Subsidy support for rice producers is provided on different agricultural inputs

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to keep their price within the purchasing capacity of the rice farmers. In 2014, the equivalent
of $712 million was disbursed for subsidy assistance. The government provided cash
subsidies to small and marginal farmers through an input distribution card that could be used
to obtain cash subsidies for electricity and fuel for irrigation, fertilizer, and other forms of
government support.

The government has attempted to stabilize rice prices through open market sales since 2014.
This was established when the cost of food in Bangladesh began to increase sharply as a
result of global price increases. This allowed people to buy rice at reduced prices from
thousands of centers in district towns and union-level dealers across the country.

4.2 Rice Environments in Bangladesh

The major rice ecosystems in Bangladesh are upland (direct-seeded premonsoon aus),
irrigated (mainly dry-season boro), rainfed lowland (mostly monsoon-season transplanted
aman, 050 cm), medium-deep stagnant water (50100 cm), deepwater (>100 cm), tidal
saline, and tidal nonsaline. Bangladesh receives about 400 mm of rain during the premonsoon
months of March to May, which enable farmers to grow a short-duration drought-resistant
crop.

Rice area in Bangladesh expanded slightly during 2001-10; however, rice area under
irrigation increased from about 30% to 73% from 1995 to 2008. During the same period, its
share under modern varieties also increased from 52% to almost 80%. Two flash-flood-
resistant varieties, BRRI dhan51 (Swarna-Sub1) and BRRI dhan52 (BR11-Sub-1) for
submergence-prone areas; and an early-maturing variety, BINA Dhan7, were released. BRRI
dhan51 was developed in 2004 when IRRI scientists implanted a submergence resistance
gene in a popular high-yielding Indian rice variety.

This variety has become very popular in submergence-prone areas in the country. The high-
yielding rice variety BINA Dhan7 can be harvested a month earlier than other rice varieties
and, hence, can avoid drought stress. This variety has high quality so it can command higher
grain prices. Farmers can also get a better price for rice straw because feed is in shortage
when this variety is harvested.

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The urea deep placement (UDP) technology, an option for increasing nitrogen-use efficiency,
involves the placement of 13 urea super granules or briquettes at 710-cm soil depth a week
after transplanting. In 2008-09, the Bangladesh Department of Agricultural Extension (with
IFDC assistance) disseminated UDP technology to 0.5 million ha and achieved an annual
increase in rice production of about 0.3 million t. UDP use reduced Bangladeshs urea
imports by 0.05 million t in 2008.

4.3 Rice Cultivation in Bangladesh

Rice Plant Paddy is the fruit cum seed. When the seed germinates the emerging plumule and
radical develop respectively into a stem and adventitious roots. The stem has nodes and
internodes. The leaf originates from a nodal bud and consists of a sheath and a long blade.
The last leaf is the flag leaf which bears the last internodes called rice panicle. This contains
florets (Spikelets); usually each flower produces one paddy.

Basal nodes produce branches called tillers, which also bear panicles. HYVs produce more
tillers and grains, giving higher yields in comparison with the traditional varieties. Each of
the rice groups of Bangladesh has distinct physio-genetical characteristics. Rayda, the
progenitor of the Bangladeshi rice groups, is now an endangered group. Each rice group has
many varieties and land-races which are called germplasms. Bangladesh rice research
institute (BRRI) has about 5,000 such germplasms in their gene bank for use.

Area under Rice Cultivation in Bangladesh, 2015-2016

Details Percentage
AUS 9.16
AMAN 48.44
BORO 42.40

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 Diagram to show rice cultivation in Bangladesh

AUS
AMAN
BORO

4.4 Physiographic of Bangladesh

Bangladesh forms the largest delta in the world and is situated between 88o10' and 92o41'
East longitudes and between 20o34' and 26o38' North latitudes. The great delta is flat
throughout and stretches from near the foot-hills of the Himalayan Mountains in the north to
the Bay of Bengal in the south. The vast plain is washed by mighty rivers-the Meghna, the
Padma, the Jamuna and the Karnafuli and their numerous tributaries. Tropical monsoon rains
drench the land and the rivers. Onrush of rain waters in summer overflows their banks
flooding low and outlying areas every year.

The monotony of flatness has been relieved inland by two elevated tracts-the Modhupur and
the Barind tracts, and on the north-east and south-east by rows of hilly forests. The great plain
lies almost at sea level along the southern coast and rises gradually towards north. The
maximum elevation above the mean sea level is 4034 feet at Keocradang Hill in Rangamati
Hill district. The topography, however, variable and can be divided into the following five
classes.

1. High Land
The area is relatively high and cannot hold waters during monsoon. Some waters are retained
by raising "bandhs" around fields. The area spreads over Modhupur Garh in Tangail and

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Mymensingh district, Bhaoal's Garh in Gazipur and Dhaka district, Barind tract in Rajshahi
Division, Lalmai area in Comilla and "Tilla" areas in Sylhet, Moulvi Bazar and Habiganj
district.

2. Medium Highland
The land which is normally flooded up to about 90 cm. depth during the rainy season for
more than two weeks continuously. The area spreads over Barisal division, major parts of
Khulna division, northern part of Rajshahi division and parts of Gazipur, Narsindi, Noakhali,
Feni, Lakshmipur, Comilla and Habiganj district.

3. Medium Lowland and Low Land

Medium Lowland is normally flooded between 90cm. and 180 cm. depths and low land is
normally flood between 180cm. and 275 cm. depth during the monsoon season. The area
spreads over major parts of Comilla, Brahmanbaria, Chandpur, Gopalgonj district and parts
of Lahskmipur, Noakhali, Serajganj, Natore and Naogaon district, northern parts of Khulna
and Bagherhat district, minor of Jessore, Kishorganj and Habiganj district.

4. Very Low Land

The land consists of haors, bills, canals and other low lying areas which looks like large lakes
during rainy season. Depth of water may rise as high as 30 feet. In winter, waters dry up
except in the centre. Most of the haors and bills lie in Sylhet division and in Kisoreganj and
Netrokona district.

5. Hilly Land
The land spreads over Rangamati, Bandarban and Khagrachari Hill Districts, parts of
Chittagong, northern parts of Mymensingh, north and southern parts of Sylhet division,
eastern border of Comilla and north eastern strip of Feni district.

4.5 Paddy Production Hit by Flood in the Haors

Many farmers have been voluntarily participating in dam repair and reinforcement, but their
efforts are mostly in vein. Paddy production is at peril in the Haors and low-lying areas of of
the northeast as heavy rainfalls as well as onrush of water from the upstream Meghalaya hills
in India have led to the inundation of vast areas of croplands.

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Floods have occurred in at least four of the five districts in the region. In Moulvibazar, which
experiences the most rainfall in Bangladesh, at least 12,800 acres of Boro paddy went under
water. Our correspondent Saiful Islam reported that farmers were seen collecting peanuts,
pumpkins and yams from the inundated fields.

Our Kishoreganj correspondent Bijoy Roy Khoka reported that the Department of
Agricultural Extension (DAE) had found around 23,300 hectares of paddy fields completely
inundated. The DAE is projecting a harvest loss of about Tk291cr there, but locals said the
real figure could be double of that.

In the Haor areas of Itna, Mithamoin, Austagram and Karimganj upazilas, this correspondent
was told by locals that about 45,000 hectares of paddy had been spoiled till Thursday and the
total loss would stand at about Tk625cr.

All big and small rivers, including the Meghna, Kalni, Kushiara, Dhanu, Ghorautra and
Dhaleshwari had spilled over the banks following several days of heavy rainfall. Flash floods
are a common incident in the Haor region in the pre-monsoon period, but poor management
of the rivers and embankments and the decline in the navigability of the rivers have worsened
the situation over the years, locals say.

Most of the paddy fields at Berachapra and Changnoagaon haors in Sutarpara union of
Karimganj upazila had been inundated by the spillover of the Duba River, claimed the
farmers. Many of them are now putting their last effort to cut the unripe paddy that can only
be used as fodder for the cattle.

Deputy Director of Kishoreganj DAE, Md Shafiqul Islam, told the Dhaka Tribune that
Austagram had been the most adversely affected upazila in the flash flood. The paddy is still
unripe in the fields and getting inundated by the spill of river water. We are preparing a list of
the flood affected farmers, said Shafiqul.

In Habiganj, almost 13,500 hectares of almost ripe paddy have gone under water. Agriculture
authorities fear that more damage would be done if the rain continues and have asked farmers
in the risky areas to harvest their paddy in its current half-ripe state. The officials told our
correspondent, Md Noor Uddin, that the estimated loss at this point was Tk172cr.
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In Sunamganj, farmers affected by the flood are alleging that their losses were caused by
irregularities and delays in Water Development Boards dam building works. Flood entered
the region on March 28 and has been growing since. Many farmers have been voluntarily
participating in dam repair and reinforcement, but their efforts are mostly in vein.

Our correspondent Himadri Shekor Vodro, who travelled to the Haor areas in Dharmapasha,
Jamalganj, Dirai, Shalla, Bishwamvarpur and Jagannathpur, saw many farmers crying in
front of their wasted harvests. Officials said at least 27,000 hectares were already under
water.

Farmers said the Water Development Board received a Tk55cr budget in 2016-17 fiscal for
the repair and construction of Boro protection dams in 48 Haors in the district. Although this
work was scheduled to begin in December, it began in February and therefore most were
incomplete when the flood struck.

4.06 Importance of Rice to Bangladeshs Development

Rice is Bangladeshs largest crop and the main staple food for the 157 million people
of the country.
Accounts for 48% of total rural employment.
Provides two-thirds of the calorie needs of the nation.
Contributes to 70% of agricultural GDP.
More than 13 million farms grow rice covering some 10.5 million hectares.
Bangladesh is now largely a rice self-sufficient nation after decades of struggle,
overcoming complex constraints related to technology adoption, policy reforms and
institutions.
However, the relative role of agriculture and rice is slowly diminishing over time.
Average income in Bangladesh would rise by 0.2 percent on average in the long run.
Consequently, the poverty rate would fall slightly from 31.5 to 31.23 percent in the
long run.
Even though only one-quarter of households are net sellers of rice, higher rice prices
have little effect on the incidence of poverty.
That the growth of price of rice would hardly affect the poor, especially in the rural
area also evident from agricultural wage rate and rice price dynamics over time.

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 Co integration results show that the long elasticity of agricultural wage rate with
respect to rice price is 1.89 implying that a 10 percent increase in rice price leads to
about 20 percent increase in agricultural wage rate.

4.07 The Rice Price Dilemma: Welfare Effects of Domestic Price Policies
In order to understand the importance of higher rice prices for welfare, poverty, and food
security, it is first important to distinguish between net rice producers and net rice consumers.
A net rice producer is someone for whom total sales of rice to the market exceed total
purchases of rice from the market, whereas, for a net rice consumer, the reverse is true. Net
rice consumers will generally be hurt by higher rice prices, while net rice producers will
benefit.

It is also true that whether a given household is a net rice producer or consumer depends on
market prices. Higher prices will discourage consumption, encourage more production, and
possibly convert some households from net consumers to net producers. Lower prices could
do the opposite. Higher rice prices will substantially hurt poor net rice consumers because
rice is typically a larger share of expenditures for the poor.

In such circumstances, rice price increases can have important effects on effective purchasing
power, even if they do not directly affect nominal income per se. Farmers who are net food
producers are likely to benefit from higher prices, which, other things being equal, will tend
to increase their incomes. Since many farmers are poor, higher prices could help to alleviate
poverty and improve food security.

Another potentially important effect of rice prices occurs in labor markets. Higher rice prices,
by stimulating the demand for unskilled labor in rural areas, can result in a long-run increase
in rural wages, thereby benefiting wage labor households in addition to self-employed
farmers. The net effect of higher food prices on welfare and poverty at the country level will
thus depend on socioeconomic structures and the national net trade position (as well as labor
market outcomes). Positive impacts of higher prices are much more likely in exporting
nations, since a greater percentage of households are probably net producers.

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But, among rice importers, the impacts on welfare and poverty of higher prices are more
uniformly negative. In addition to the short-term adverse effects of high rice prices on
poverty, high rice prices also raise concerns about long-term economic growth in countries
where rice is the staple food. Although there is no solid evidence in this regard, high rice
prices (in countries that choose to adopt such a policy) might end up reducing their
international economic competitiveness by raising the price of the wage good, thus making
wage rates less competitive and discouraging investment in labor-intensive employment that
promotes long-term economic growth. High rice prices may also impede diversification into
labor- intensive higher-value crops.

4.08 Rice Prices and their Relationship to Local Growth and Development
Integration of Domestic Rice Markets
Spatial rice markets are well integrated as the elasticity coefficients across markets are
close to unity. Between 25 to 60 percent of the disequilibrium is corrected within a
month by the coarse rice price.
Implications: open market interventions would be effective in stabilizing market
prices.
Trends and Impact of Global Rice Prices
Dhaka market is well integrated with that of Indian and Thai rice markets but not
Vietnamese.
This may encourage policy makers to increase reliance on the world rice market
through open trade.
However, international rice prices have been prone to large swings and volatility. CV
of rice prices and GARCH results.
The impact on growth, poverty reduction and food security has occurred mainly
through rice production and yields, in the face of declining terms of trade of
agriculture and declining trend in relative price of rice.
In fact the rice-based Green Revolution was a major breakthrough for the rural
economy, creating jobs, employment and demand.
Economy-wide effects of cheap food also helped in industrialization through low
wages, low inflation and a stable macro-economy.

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 Food security was achieved nationally through much improved availability of food
grains because of rising domestic production and a gradual decline in food aid and
cash imports.

4.09 Price Policy Options for the Future

Policies In general, it seems hard to justify sustained departures of average domestic prices
from world market prices on either efficiency or equity grounds. Sustained deviations from
the world price can lead to large misallocations of scarce resources that increase with the
square of the deviation from the world price, meaning that losses increase exponentially as
the deviation gets larger. In terms of dynamic efficiency, attempts to consistently enforce a
domestic price higher than the world price may lock farmers into rice and out of more
dynamic high-value crops, and they may lose the ability to learn and adjust dynamically to
changing market conditions, a skill that will be of increasing importance for farmer-
entrepreneurs in the future. Consistent price differentials also encourage corruption.

The world rice crisis of 2008 will undoubtedly encourage many governments to strive for
self-sufficiency using higher rice prices. But, given the welfare costs to the poor of high
prices, investments in agricultural research and infrastructure so as to improve agricultural
productivity and markets would seem to be a far superior way to achieve self- sufficiency.
One policy option would be to offset high producer support prices with consumer subsidies
targeted to the poor, but this faces at least two major problems. First, it is very difficult
administratively to target the poor. Second, raising producer prices above market levels and
lowering consumer prices below market levels incurs large fiscal costs (especially in poor
countries) that crowd out spending on public goods, thus impairing the long-run growth of
the economy. The case for stabilizing prices around the long-term trend of world prices
seems stronger, although it is still very controversial among economists and there is no
widespread agreement on this issue.

The central question is how to absorb the instability in world supply and demand that leads to
changing world market prices. Trade-based domestic price stabilization policies, if
successful, shield domestic producers and consumers from that instability, but at the cost of
affecting world market prices and making them more unstable. Trade-based stabilization
policies can lead to corruption as well, especially when the government plays a major role in

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conducting trade. Holding large stocks can provide a buffer, but the carrying costs of stocks
can be very large, even without taking into account the quality deterioration of grain in
storage. Safety net programs are a possible solution, but they place large administrative
demands on governments, can have problems achieving wide coverage, and may need to be
redesigned to serve transitory instead of chronic needs.

Politically, it is hard to imagine that a poor country could tolerate the wide swings in income
distribution that would result if domestic prices followed world prices on a month-to-month
basis. As a result, there is no realistic chance that governments will simply abandon stable
food price policies any time soon. Given this reality, it makes sense to explore ways to make
price stabilization more cost-effective. This is especially important because the benefits of
stabilization decline as economies grow and the importance of rice to the economy declines.

4.10 Changes in Demography and the Rice Economy

As economies develop, the rural sector undergoes major changes. The younger members of
rural communities, particularly men, leave in search of jobs in urban areas or overseas and
send remittances back to their rural homes. These rural economies are becoming older and
more feminized, and this trend is likely to continue. In some countries, especially in Africa,
HIV/AIDS is also exacting a toll on the rural labor force. As a consequence, labor availability
is declining and wages are increasing in many rice-growing areas.

Farm employment is less attractive, and labor is harder to find at peak periods for key
operations, such as transplanting, weeding, and harvesting. With rising wages and labor
shortages, mechanization is becoming more common for both land preparation and
harvesting, especially in irrigated areas. Also, farmers are shifting from hand weeding to the
use of herbicides, and from transplanting to direct seeding. By the late 1990s, an estimated
one-fifth of the rice area in Asia was direct seeded, and this proportion is expected to rise.

4.11 The Impact of Modern Rice Varieties on Livelihoods in Bangladesh

Rice is Bangladeshs most important food crop. National research on rice dates back to 1935,
when the focus was on traditional varieties (TVs). Today, thanks to the large-scale adoption
of modern varieties (MVs), Bangladesh has markedly improved both rice yields and
production. By 2013, the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), supported by the

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International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), had developed 41 high-yielding MVs to suit
different rice-growing ecologies. Smallholders have been major adopters, using the higher
yields to increase family food security.

Between 1987 and 2015 research was undertaken by the Bangladesh Institute of
Development Studies (BIDS) and IRRI on the impact of MVs on livelihoods in Bangladesh.
The research was based on a sample survey of 1,245 households, on which data were
collected using a structured questionnaire. Households were classified as rich, solvent, poor,
or very poor, using a participatory appraisal method.

The research showed that the adoption of MVs had significant positive impacts on crop yields
and farm incomes for households with access to land. However, by the end of the study
period rice farming accounted for only 20 per cent of total household incomes, so the overall
impact on incomes was relatively small. The research also indicated that, although the
profitability of rice is declining due to falling prices, higher input costs and reduced farm
sizes; the crop nevertheless contributes greatly to food security and acts as an entry point to
off-farm employment.

Average annual household income rose from US$889 in 1987 to US$1151 in 2013. Within
this, nonagricultural activities accounted for a rising share. In rural Bangladesh today, land
ownership and agricultural labor are no longer the predominant sources of income. Instead,
businesses, services, and remittance income have increased substantially.

As part of the overall CGIAR 2015 annual performance measurement exercise, the Science
Council received 30 individual case studies of Center impact. These were the best examples
of impact assessments done by the Centers during 20152016. The Science Council's
Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) identified six of these as being particularly
meritorious in terms of quality of analysis and presentation.

In recognition of these studies as good examples of emerging best practice, SPIA has, with
the relevant Center's concurrence, prepared Science Council/SPIA Briefs on each. Publishing
quality impact briefs responds to continued calls from donors to the CGIAR for more
documented evidence of impacts to be made available in the form of such concise
publications.
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4.12 Fish Cultivation in Paddy Field Makes New Chapter
Rice-fish farming in Bangladesh Rice-fish farming is an age old practice in many Asian
countries. Deliberate stocking of fish seed in rice-fields and its management in Bangladesh,
was introduced and promoted during the 1980-90s by the research and development agencies
(DoF, 2015; ADB, 2016; Gupta). Rice is the staple food of the countrys people and is
cultured in suitable part of the country. Therefore, integrating fish with rice cultivation has a
enormous potential in the country (Barman,; Barman and Little) .

Fish in this system are mostly considered as an incremental benefit with little marginal
investment cost. Rice-fish farming constituted 20% of the total national aquaculture
production in 2016 (Alamgir et al. 2016). Fish can be grown concurrently or alternatively
with rice. Alternative culture is usually practiced in the southern region of Bangladesh where
water levels are high in the monsoon and not feasible for growing rice (CARE).

The concurrent system is most popular in the north-west region, which is an important rice
growing area of the country. Fish are grown in both irrigated and rain fed rice in this area.
Farmers mainly grow fish seed with the irrigated rice (boro season) and table fish with the
rain fed rice (amon season). Rice fields need to be altered by raising dikes to prevent flooding
and escape of fish and digging refuge for fish during water shortage. Usually rice fields are
rich with diverse natural fish food organisms, requiring little or no supplementary feed.
Farmers usually grow fingerlings, mostly common carp (Cyprinus caprio) in irrigated rice

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fields, while raising tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fingerlings is becoming popular for the
rice-fish farmers in northwest Bangladesh (Barman).

Although the fish production level is low (for different seasons compared to pond
production), the results and benefits shows a promising potential for increasing fish
production and household nutrition. Through proper technology dissemination approaches an
estimated 65,000 ha rice field could be brought under an integrated rice-fish system.

4.13 Fish Cultivation in Paddy Field of Narsingdi

Farmers of the district are now annually producing about 2,800 to 3,000 tonne fish in the
paddy fields. Fish farming in paddy field, the new devised technology of fish scientist, is
increasingly and gaining popularity among the people in Narsingdi. District Fisheries office
sources said there were two ways of fish farming in paddy field as fish culture along with
paddy and fish culture before cultivation and after harvesting of paddy.

A number of people in all the six upazilas of the district have been farming Rui, Katal,
Mrigal, Kali-baous, Pangas, Tilapia, Shorputi, Silvercarp in the low-laying areas. A total of
1,124 hectares of paddy field in the district, besides the farmers are cultivating vegetables in
the adjoining fragmentation land during the last three and four years due to its economic
aspect.

District Fisheries Officer Abul Farah said fish farming in paddy field has made a new chapter
in fisheries sector and it is gaining popularity in the district. Fish farming in paddy field also
creates employment of rural people and fulfill the demand of nutrition, he added. He said
farmers of the district are now annually producing about 2,800 to 3,000 tonne fish in the
paddy fields and it is fulfill the local fish demand in the district.

Moreover farmers also are cultivating paddy in the same land. The officer said, Fisheries
Department providing different support to the farmers to make the programme success. If the
farmers get easy term loan and fare price of fish food in the market then more farmers will
get interest for farming fish in the paddy fields. Farmers of the district, after cutting Aman
paddy, are busy for farming fish in their low-laying paddy fields.

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4.14 Effect of the Rice-Cum-Fish Culture Technology on Households
Net return, yields of paddy, total cost, fish consumption, and labor employment of per hectare
of rice-cum- fish culture were Tk.165345.00, 4900 kg, Tk.67890, 245.5 gm/day, and 170.00
man-days, respectively. On the other hand, net return, yields of paddy, total cost, fish
consumption, and labor employment of per hectare of rice-mono culture were Tk.5389.50,
4400 kg, Tk.45600.00, 214.40 gm/day, and 155.41 man-days, respectively. Effect of the rice-
cum-fish culture on the per hectare net return, yields, total costs, fish consumption and labor
employment were (+) 184.72%, (+) 92.53%, (+) 11.36%, (+) 48.88%, (+) 53.67%, (+)
14.52%, and (+) 09.37%, respectively.

Effect of the rice-cum-fish culture technology on households

Item Rice-cum fish Rice mono Change (%)
culture culture
Net return (Tk/ha) 15345.00 5389.50 (+) 184.7

Yields (Kg/ha) 4900.00 4400.00 (+) 11.4

Total costs (Tk/ha) 67890.00 45600.00 (+) 48.9

Fish consumption (gm/day/family) 245.50 214.40 (+) 14.5

Labor employment (man-days/ha) 170.00 155.41 (+) 09.4

The estimated coefficients and related statistics of the multiple regression analysis was done
to measure the impact of different, influencing variables on total household income, are
summarized in following Table:
Independent variables Coefficient | t | values

Age of the respondent - 505.00** 2.7

Number of members in the family 2902 .00 1.5
Number of working persons in the family Education 3061.00 1.8
of the respondent 1110.00 2.1
Size of the total cultivable land 5216.00 ** 4.0

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Distance of the district head quarter market -12137.00** 3.4
Lengths of Katcha road from houses to the -10533.00** 4.8
nearest highway 0.83
R2 67.94
F
** Significant at 1 percent level.
Table shows negative effect of farmers age on annual income pointing out that old
farmers income is relatively less than young aged farmers. The reason could be, the elders
are less willing to adopt new technology including rice-cum-fish farming. According to
Hossain, older farmers are less likely to have contacts with extension agents and are less
willing to adopt new practices and modern inputs. Furthermore, younger farmers are likely to
have some formal education, and therefore might be more successful in gathering information
and understanding new practices, which in turn will improve their technical efficiency.

The result also shows that farm size is positively related to annual income which indicates
better managerial ability of larger farms. Distance of the district head quarter market and
lengths of katcha road from houses to the nearest highway are negatively related to annual
income. These two variables are the indicator of infrastructure and the result tells that lack of
infrastructural facility reduces respondents income. There is no suspect about the positive
role of infrastructure to increase farm income as well non-farm income. The modern rice
producer benefits significantly from better infrastructure; and badly developed infrastructure
leads to negative effects on both productivity and income.

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 CHAPTER - FIVE
CONCLUSION

5.1 Concluding Remark

Bangladesh is famous for extensive rice biodiversity. The farmers have long been growing
vast number of traditional land races with different quality of grains, resistance to number of
diseases and insects and with varying growing conditions, due to its diverse agro-ecological
conditions. It is reported that the IRRI Gene Bank contains more than 8,000 traditional rice
varieties collected from Bangladesh. Many of these land races such as Lati Shail and Niger
Shail have been used by rice breeders as donors to develop elite lines that have been used as
parents for popular improved rice varieties grown throughout Asia. But, the cultivation of
modern varieties (MVs) was introduced in Bangladesh in the boro season of Bangladesh
through importation of seeds of IR-8 by the Bangladesh Academy of Rural Development
(BARD), Comilla The variety produced almost 2.5 times higher yield that the traditional boro
varieties grown at that time in the depressed basins of Sylhet, Pabna and Barisal regions.

Beginning in 1970, another IRRI bred variety, IR-20 (IRRI Shail) was introduced to farmers
for growing in the aman season. In addition to the IRRI Varieties, Paizam (or Pajam, or
Masuri, or mansuli as known in different parts of South Asia) a high yield varieties of
Malaysian origin developed under an FAO project was another improved variety grown in
the aman season. Many of the elite lines that came to Bangladesh were suited for the boro and
aus seasons. The most popular of them are BR1, BR3, BR14, BR14, and more recently
Brridhan 28 and Brridhan 29. But IRRI parent materials were not found suitable for the aman
season which are subjected to water-related stresses such as flooding, temporary
submergence and prolonged waterlogging. For this season, BRRI scientists have crossed
international elite lines with Bangladeshi land races to develop suitable varieties.

Most popular of them are BR11 released in 1981, which has IR20 as female parent and IR5-
47-2 as male parent. Recently, Brridhan 33 which is a shorter maturity aman variety has
helped alleviating Monga in the North-Western region.

As a result of the introduction of these modern varieties, many traditional rice varieties have
completely disappeared or on the way of extinction. The main reason is the substantially

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higher yield and profitability of improved varieties compared to the traditional landraces
which are very low-yielding and take long time to mature. Yet farmers conservation of rice
genetic diversity has continued managing landraces in the agro ecosystems and communities
where they have evolved historically.

Despite of low yield one of the major reasons for continuing production of local varieties is
varietal adaptation to soils and other environmental factors (Zimmerer and Douches). That is,
the more heterogeneous the conditions in which farmers cultivate the crop, the higher the
expected levels of infra-specific diversity. The varieties differ in the extent to which they
provide agronomic (adaptation to soils, maturity, disease resistance, fodder and grain yield)
and consumption (taste, appearance) attributes. Greater numbers of plots and farm
fragmentation have also been associated with crop and variety specificity.

The second generic factors that operates at a regional or community scale and is hypothesized
to explain variation in levels of crop inter- and intra specific diversity is opportunities for
trade in markets. This implies an area relatively isolated from markets would lead us to
predict that modern varieties are less likely to be found or are found to a lesser extent. At the
same time, access to seed markets also enables farmers to combine the attributes of purchased
seed types with those selected and maintained by farmers in their own community. Further,
farmers may seek temporal smoothing in crop and variety requirements through growing
combinations with different planting, weeding, and harvesting dates, which leads to the
cultivation of different varieties.

The total number of landraces as well as the area planted to landraces in Bangladesh is
declining over time. They are maintained in small areas as special purpose rice (such as
kalizira for polao), for superior grain quality that fetches high price in the market (such as
Katari bhog) or for tolerance to extreme environmental stresses (such as Mota dhan in the
coastal areas). Hossain and Jaim reported that farmers in Bangladesh still cultivate more than
1,000 traditional varieties/landraces.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

References
Hossain M, Jaim WMH 2016. Diversity and diffusion of rice varieties: A data base for
Bangladesh. Report submitted to IFPRI, HarvestPlus Project, July.

ADB (2016) Rural Development Priorities for Poverty Reduction in Bangladesh, Asian
Development Bank.

Aftabuzzaman, M. (2016) Prawn farming development aspect of Bangladesh.

Technologies and Management for Fisheries Development, , Fisheries Research Institute,

Mymensingh, Bangladesh.

Ahmed, M. (2016) Status and potential of aquaculture in aquaculture in Bangladesh.

Ahmed, M. and Lorica, M.H. (2017) Improving developing country food security through
aquaculture developmentlessons from Asia.

DFID (2016) Better livelihoods for poor people: The role of agriculture, Consultation
Document, Department for International Development.

Websites
www.slideshare.com
www.assaignmnetpoint.com
www.scribd.com
www.studyline.com
http://www.reportbd.com/articles/rice-in-Bangladesh.
http://www.ricepedia.bd.

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