A NEWS report published in a national daily on Saturday said that 42 per cent of rural households have not succeeded to move out of poverty sustainably, while 13 per cent households are trapped in extreme poverty. The report, quoting a BIDS study, said that 87 per cent of the rural households are trapped between extreme poverty and moderately poverty, implying their daily income fluctuates between $1-2 per day, but cannot move to more than $2 per day. Four World Bank economists in a recent study on “Bangladesh Rural Income Diagnostics” said, Bangladesh has some notable achievements in reducing rural poverty, but these achievements have neither been uniform nor sustainable. Under the study they surveyed 62 villages and analysed data from a range of recent surveys and censuses conducted by the government and the UN organisations.
Over-dependence on agriculture, particularly rice cultivation, was mentioned as the major reason behind such fragile achievements in poverty reduction. Although many crops offer farmers higher returns than rice, most farmers continue to grow rice due to lack of a supportive agricultural policy from the state. 60 per cent rural women of working age remain engaged in unpaid agricultural activities. Their earning potential remains largely untapped because of this very reason, it found. The WB economists recommended diversification and modernisation of agriculture by focusing more on higher value-added crops, livestock and fishing products, engagement of women to skilled and paid work, and development of small cities and towns so that more men and women can engage in non-agricultural and paid activities.
The study points out that over the past 30 years the poverty rate in Bangladesh went from 44 per cent to 14 per cent. During the current Covid-19 period the poverty rate however again slided back to 42 per cent. The country faces daunting challenges with about 22 million people still living below the poverty line. The global lender identified job creation as the country’s top development priority. Bangladesh is at a juncture where it will need to remove the barriers to higher growth posed by low access to reliable and affordable power, poor transportation infrastructure, and complex business regulation. It also needs more innovative policy experimentations to reduce poverty as well as learning from experiences of similar economic and development transformation of other countries to tackle poverty alleviation challenges.
