What are the Problems of Agriculture in Bangladesh?

Before embarking anything on problems of agriculture in Bangladesh, we should discuss the overall economic condition of the country. Although Bangladesh is mainly an agrarian country, due to natural calamities, low investment and unscientific method of cultivation decreasing production has become a regular phenomenon. In addition, increasing population of the country has further deteriorated food deficit. Development program is seriously hampered for importing food from abroad. It is thus necessary to attain self-suffices in food. For this reason problems of our agriculture have been identified as under:

1. Primitive Type of Cultivation: Agriculture in Bangladesh is still carried out by ancient method using a pair of bulls, wooden plough and yokes etc. As a result, production is not being increased. Application of semi-improved appliances though has stated but it is not adequate. 
2. Lack of Capital: low per capital income is responsible for low investment in agriculture. The people do not have any surplus for investment after meeting their basic needs. Moreover, estimated average income does not match with the real income of a farmer of the rural village. Real income is always less than it is shown. 
3. Education for Agriculture: The rural people could not yet attain adequate knowledge for mechanized cultivation. About 35 percent people are yet to be literate. Because , most of the literate people are ignorant of modern methods of cultivation. They also possess very little knowledge about the soil composition, use of fertilizer suitable for environment and pesticides. Therefore, it is very difficult to get good harvest. 
4. Small Agricultural Holdings: Due to increased population, joint families are gradually disappearing thereby leading agricultural holdings to smaller ones. In many cases the holding are so small that cultivation of these land holdings are difficult not only by power-tillers, but also even by wooden ploughs. This results in low rate of average production.
5. Lack of Agricultural Credit: The pecuniary condition of the poor village cultivators is so poor that they cannot afford to even minimum cultivation cost. If required inputs are not applied during the crop season, good harvest cannot be expected. There is serious dearth of agricultural credit in villages. The amount of loan advanced by the commercial banks under government initiatives is not adequate to meet the requirement. The genuine cultivators many times do not get this loan. They generally receive loan from the village ‘mahajans’ at a higher rate of interest. Currently this problem has been intensified because the number of ‘mahajans’ has decreased. It is true that the NGOs are providing loan, but their behavior and rate of interest are more damaging than the ‘mahajans’.
6. What of Seeds and Fertilizer: Because of financial insolvency, the cultivators are not in a position to use better seeds, appropriate fertilizer and other pest control measures. Besides, their little knowledge of applying chemicals and its usefulness is responsible for inadequate utilization of these materials. Per acre yield, therefore, is very low in Bangladesh.
7. Lack of Irrigation: It has not been possible to bring all the cultivable land under irrigation like other developed countries of the world. North-west areas of the country have some facilities for irrigation, while the cultivators of other areas are not getting this facility. Some irrigation facilities through deep and shallow tube-wells, pump machines etc. are being provided. The areas with irrigation facilities yielded  more production. 
8. Diminishing Fertility of Soil: This is not scientific to produce same crop again and again in the same land. This concept of the experts has been proved true. Fertility of land is also grandly decreasing day by day for not using required volume of manure and chemical fertilizer. Illiterate cultivators of our country mean application of chemical fertilizer only. Repeated application of this kind of fertilizer results in decreasing fertility of soil.
9. Damage by Pests: Natural calamity is a regular feature in Bangladesh. Our agriculture largely depends on the vagaries of nature. Natural calamities like flood, drought, excessive rainfall, pests etc. damage huge crops every year. Sometimes crops are safely harvested. The cultivators fail to produce expected crops every year. 
10. Natural Calamities: Damage of crops by excessive rainfall, drought, flood and other reason is not a new problem in our country. The cultivators do not feel secured until crops are safely harvested. The cultivators fail to produce expected crops every year.
11. Absence of proper Marketing System: Lack of proper marketing system of agriculture produces is another impediment. Undeveloped means of communication and inadequate number of motor vehicles hamper proper transportation of products from one place to another. As a result, the producers have to sell their commodities at lower prices.
12. Influence of the Mahajans and the Small Trader: The loan recipient cultivators are compelled to sell their commodities to the village ‘mahajans’ at lower prices to repay their loan. The poor cultivators thus are deprived of fair prices of their products for want of necessary storage facilities and also pressure of repaying loan from the moneylenders. 
13. Salinity of Water: This is a common problem for the southern part of Bangladesh. Saline seawater at the time of tide flows to plain croplands through different rivers and canals and thus makes the adjacent lands infertile. 
14. Unplanned Production: Unplanned production originates from illiteracy as well as improper education. Increased price of a particular commodity in a particular period induces the cultivators to produce more of that commodity in subsequent year and as a result of increased volume of production and supply, the price of that commodity falls. In this situation, the producers cannot even meet the cost of production with the sale proceeds of the crops.
15. Undeveloped Means of Communication: It is necessary to further develop the means of communication from rural villages to Thana sadars, districts, port cities and capital city. Our village areas still lack in developed communication for boosting up export and import. This situation forces the small and marginal farmers to sell their products in the respective local markets and as such they do not get fair and reasonable prices.