Bangladesh: Basic Facts Presented by: Syed Amdadul Huq Research Director (a.i.), FPMU 22/02/10 Presentation to Cambodian Food Security Team

Population: Bangladesh is one of the top 10 highly populated countries of the world (WDR 2009). Population is about million (2008) and the area is about square kilometers. Population growth in Bangladesh is much higher compare to other South Asian countries. It is also the highest dense country in South Asia (2007).

GDP and Per Capita Income: It is revealed in WDR 2009 that per capita income in Bangladesh is low enough with respect to regional context. In last 5 years, average contribution form Agriculture in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was 21.89%, where highest sub-sectoral contribution was from Crop (57%) and lowest from Crop (57%) and lowest was from Forest (8%).

Agriculture: Bangladesh is predominantly an agricultural country where provision of food security, improvement of the living standard and generation of employment opportunities of the huge population of the country are directly linked to the development of agriculture. Although Bangladesh is an agro-based country, about 89% of total farm-holding is below 2.49 acres in size. According to Agriculture Sample Survey 2005, Farm holdings by size class in Bangladesh are as follows:

Major Challenges to Agriculture as well as overall development in Bangladesh: A. Key Environmental Stresses : Land and Soil : The annual loss of arable land stands at about 100 thousand ha per year due to non- agricultural use including extension of human settlements. Physical, chemical and biological properties of soil are deteriorating due to a number of reasons including loss of micro nutrient, salinity intrusion, lack of proper replenishment of plant nutrient etc. Water: Water-related problems generally exist in Bangladesh: water scarcity during dry season, over exploitation of ground water and salinity in coastal belts. Disaster: Bangladesh is a disaster-prone country. UNDP has identified Bangladesh  The most vulnerable country in the world to tropical cyclones and  The Sixth most vulnerable country to floods Disasters have crucial implication for lives and livelihoods of huge numbers of population.

B. Adverse Impacts of Climate Change Different estimates suggest that Bangladesh is recognized by the world communities as one of the most vulnerable countries susceptible to global warming and climate change. Different estimates suggest that  The effects of a 1 meter rise in sea-level would cause the loss of approximately 30,000 km2 (1/5 th of land area) to permanent inundation in Bangladesh.  It would also enhance the frequency of severe tropical cyclones that have the potential to cause a storm surge of 3-6 metres.  Subsequent erosion of the remaining coastline from sea-level rise and extreme events would contribute to further land loss. The most alarming prediction about the impacts of climate change in Bangladesh is that more than 25 million people will become climate refugees and food insecure only due to sea level rise in the coming decades. Climate changes have multiple implications on rice production in Bangladesh. Scarcity of land for cultivation due to submergence of land area.Scarcity of land for cultivation due to submergence of land area. Soil quality degradation due to salinity.Soil quality degradation due to salinity. Yield reduction due to changed crop duration and increased crop infestation.Yield reduction due to changed crop duration and increased crop infestation. Impacts of adverse climate change on agriculture already observed:  Irregular monsoon and very little rainfall in dry period  Increased frequency, intensity and recurrence of floods, cyclones.  Crop damage due to flash floods and monsoon floods  Crop failure due to drought  Salinity intrusion along the coast leading to redundancy of prevailing crop practices.

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