Bangladesh has made commendable progress in alleviating poverty and hunger as it is maintaining excellent economic growth over the last two decades “reducing poverty as well as absolute hungers.”
“Agriculture productivity has increased significantly in Bangladesh reducing both poverty and absolute hunger of the people….. Malnutrition is there but the country has achieved remarkable success in reducing extreme hunger,” Hoonae Kim, Director Asia and the Pacific Region of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), told BSS.
Poverty reduction rate as well as reducing hunger in Bangladesh marked well progress than many developing nations, she said adding, “Bangladesh needs to go for crops diversification to enhance agriculture productivity as well as promote market linkage to get higher prices of agricultural goods to reach its Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015.”
IFAD maintains a strong and long-standing partnership with Bangladesh in agriculture and rural development, Hoonae Kim added.
Bangladesh is particularly venerable to climate change and its agriculture sector already is being affected by adverse impact of global climate change, she said adding IFAD is working with Bangladesh to take adaptation measures to protect agriculture sector from negative impact climate change.
An official of IFAD said IFAD has more than 30 years of experiences working in Bangladesh. In line with sixth five-year plan, the IFAD 2012 country strategic opportunities programme for Bangladesh has set three main objectives including enabling poor people in vulnerable areas to better adapt their livelihood to climate change, helping small producers and entrepreneurs benefit from improved value chains and greater markets access and economically and socially empower marginalized groups.
According to Bangladesh Country Programme Evaluation conducted by IFAD, in terms of social development, the country is expected to reach its Millennium Development Goal of halving extreme poverty by 2015. The percentage of the population living below the national poverty line declined from 48.9 percent in 2000 to 31.5 percent in 2010, it added.
The Country Programme Evaluation (CPE) revealed that poverty is high in rural areas, especially among small farm households, landless workers women, and among the disadvantaged populations. The agriculture sector grew at around 4 percent per annum over the 2006-2013 period, the CPA added.
It plays a key role in food security, employment and livelihood of the rural population. Despite its moderate growth, its share in the country’s gross domestic product declined from 30 percent in 1990 to 17 percent in 2013.
