The agricultural and rural sector in Bangladesh plays a vital role in the sustained food and

livelihood security of its large and ever-growing population. Bangladesh's population of 164.6
million live on a landmass measuring 147,570 km². Bangladesh is predominantly an agrarian
country. Due to its very fertile land and favorable weather, varieties of crops grow abundantly in
this land. Sixty percent of the land is cultivable. In the past 20 years, the country has made great
strides towards a reduction in poverty and child malnutrition. However, in rural areas the poverty
rate still stands at approximately 26 percent, roughly 2 percent higher than the rate in urban areas
before the pandemic. Many poor people who had graduated from extreme poverty in the past and
used to live around the poverty line before the COVID-19 pandemic may fall back into poverty or
extreme poverty again. The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) share for agriculture (14%)
has been declining for the last few years but gross volume has increased. Though the agricultural
sector employs 43% of the total labor force, the country’s “demographic dividend”- youth adults
are reluctant to get involved in this sector due to poor return on investment and lack of assets,
skills, and respect from the community. It needs to increase the sectoral growth rate of GDP in
agriculture and the average growth elasticity of agriculture is to be improved if the growth
elasticity of poverty is to be reduced. In this case, continuous innovation of technology is required
to increase agricultural productivity and get the right involvement of educated youth. Each and
every year it loses about 100,000 hectares of productive agricultural land through conversion to
non-agricultural uses on one hand and confronts climate changes, soil health deterioration, and
water management on other hand. Bangladesh is transitioning from its designation as an LDC
(Least Developed Country) to a MIC (Middle Income Country). Therefore, meeting its Sustainable
Development Goals (SDG) is a key priority for Bangladesh, and ensuring food security through
agricultural development is its prime concern.

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