Publication: Promoting Agri-Food Sector Transformation in Bangladesh: Policy and Investment Priorities
Loading...
Date
2020-05-27
ISSN
Published
2020-05-27
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The agriculture sector has been critically important in reducing poverty in Bangladesh, and further progress in agriculture will remain important as Bangladesh’s economy continues to evolve. Declining agricultural productivity growth poses substantial risk to the development of the rural economy. There are substantial market opportunities for productive diversification and increased value addition for the agri-food sector in Bangladesh. The agri-food ecosystem analysis carried out for this study identifies critical constraints to the diversification and modernization of the agri-food sector. The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) crisis has hit Bangladesh’s economy and its agri-food sector hard and lasting impacts can be expected on the sector. The overall aim of this report is to identify policy and public investment opportunities for increasing agricultural diversification and creating an enabling business environment for private sector investment along the agri-food supply chain using the maximizing finance for development (MFD) framework. The report is intended to provide guidance to the Government of Bangladesh (GoB) to implement and operationalize the strategic priorities of agricultural diversification and commercialization, as outlined in national agricultural policy 2018, to improve farms’ incomes, create rural jobs, and attain nutrition security in the country. The report is also intended to inform the World Bank’s strategies and dialogue for agriculture and rural development in Bangladesh and sharpen priorities for future engagement on agri-food sector modernization initiatives.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank. 2020. Promoting Agri-Food Sector Transformation in Bangladesh: Policy and Investment Priorities. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/33832 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Africa Can Help Feed Africa(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-10)Africa's growing demand for food has been met increasingly by imports from the global market. This, coupled with rising global food prices, brings ever-mounting food import bills. In addition, population growth and changing demand patterns will double demands over the next 10 years. Two key issues must be addressed: (a) establishing a consistent and stable policy environment for regional trade in fertilizers; and (b) investing in institutions that reduce the transaction costs of coordination failures. Many countries have enacted new fertilizer laws in recent years, but few have provided the resources to define and enforce regulations through standards and testing capacity. This report shows that reducing regulatory burdens on fertilizers and the consequent increase in use of fertilizers will have substantial impacts on returns to farmers, with consequent impacts on poverty. The report highlights the range of barriers to food trade in Africa along the entire value chain. The issues pertain to many ministries and agencies within government: trade, agricultural, health and safety, transport, and finance. This in turn requires a "whole of government' approach to freeing up food trade, which will require strong and effective leadership to articulate the rationale and sustain the momentum for reform. Leaders must also address the hard choices that will arise in dealing with the political economy constraints that have until now blocked the capacity of Africa to exploit its enormous potential to feed Africans.Publication Promoting Pro-Poor Agricultural Growth in Rwanda : Challenges and Opportunities(Washington, DC, 2007-06-01)This report summarizes the findings of a study undertaken by the World Bank at the request of the Government of Rwanda. The study had three main objectives: (i) Validate the argument that agriculture has potential to become a leading engine of pro-poor growth in Rwanda and identify potential sources of rapid and sustainable growth within the agricultural sector; (ii) identify key actions that will be needed to unlock these sources of agricultural growth, and describe actions in other sectors that will be needed to support the successful implementation of the government's agricultural policy agenda; and (iii) confirm the congruence between the priority actions needed to stimulate increased agricultural growth and the policy reforms, institutional changes, and supporting investments envisioned under the Plan Strategique de Transformation Agricole (PSTA). This report consists of five sections, of which the introduction is the first. Section 2 describes the importance of agriculture in the economy of Rwanda and analyzes recent trends in the performance of the agricultural sector. Section 3 discusses possible future drivers of growth, considering both the demand and the supply side. Section 4 presents the results of a modeling exercise that explores the likely future impacts of alternative growth strategies on incomes, poverty, foreign exchange earnings, and food security. Section 5 concludes by discussing key actions within the agricultural sector that will be needed to stimulate sustainable pro-poor growth.Publication Niger : Food Security and Safety Nets(Washington, DC, 2009-02-18)Niger is a very poor country that faces serious problems of poverty and household food insecurity. With a per capita gross national income (GNI) of US$240 and an estimated 62 percent of the population living below the poverty line, Niger is one of the lowest-ranked countries on the United Nations' human development index. Reducing vulnerability and ensuring food and nutrition security is an overarching priority for the Government. Maintaining food security at the national and household level is an important priority for developing countries in general, both for the welfare of the poor and for political stability. In order to ensure food security, governments have adopted various strategies, including efforts to increase staple food crop production, market interventions, and a variety of safety net programs, especially during emergencies. In Niger, where profound vulnerabilities combined with a high level of population growth have resulted in endemic food insecurity, the Government is faced with a serious challenge. In this context, the purpose of this study is to contribute to the existing strategy and assist the Government in developing a holistic, multi-sectoral, and institutional approach to reducing the population's vulnerability to food insecurity. This report adds value to the ongoing policy discussions in two ways: first, it presents new empirical analysis of: i) food insecurity and vulnerability of households during the period of food crises as well as during normal period, ii) the structure and integration of cereal markets within Niger and with markets in neighboring countries, and iii) causes of the 2005 food crisis, and lessons learned on implications of various levels of cross-border flows between Niger and Nigeria. Second, it provides concrete short- and medium-term recommendations for helping government to improve the performance of existing programs to increase food security, particularly related to preparedness for and responses to food crises, and to design efficient safety nets mechanisms for vulnerable population.Publication Niger : Food Security and Safety Nets(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2009-02)This study aims to assist the Government of Niger in developing a multi-sectoral approach to reducing the population s vulnerability to food insecurity. The study reviews food security policies and programs in Niger, and provides an action plan for strengthening the existing system and developing an effective safety net strategy. The study finds that targeting of food aid has been either weak with significant leakages. Moreover, although the need to support poor and food insecure households is substantial, safety nets are small, receive limited funding, and are designed for emergency food crises. The study recommends to improve the efficiency and scope of safety net programs in Niger and to promote effective strategies to improve food availability and the emergency response systems.Publication Enhancing Food Security in Afghanistan : Private Markets and Public Policy Options(Washington, DC, 2005-08)This report analyzes some key aspects of food security, namely production, trade, markets and food aid at the national level, and consumption at the household level. In doing so it aspires to make a contribution to the on-going work in Afghanistan regarding the attainment of the poverty and hunger Millennium Development Goal. The major findings of the report can be summarized as follows: Food security (at the national level) does not necessarily require national self-sufficiency in wheat or other food staples, as long as the country has access to international markets. Rather, diversification into legal high-value crops and livestock products may be the most effective means of increasing food security, by generating foreign exchange and raising the incomes and purchasing power of the rural poor. In spite of very difficult conditions, wheat markets in Afghanistan have performed fairly well and private sector international trade has helped to stabilize supply and prices. Therefore, further developing the infrastructure and institutions to support wheat markets and facilitating private sector trade is called for and will enhance food security. At the household level, food insecurity in Afghanistan is largely caused by inadequate access to food resulting from low household incomes. For most of Afghanistan, where availability of food is not a constraint, increasing cash incomes is the more efficient means of enhancing food security of the poor. Development of both private and public capacity for data collection and analysis is a high priority for effective formulation, assessment and implementation of food policies.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Error: Could not load results for 'https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/item/relateditemlistconfigs/7435ad86-fca2-50b2-96e4-42f606c51efb_downloads/itemlist'.