Showing posts with label Bangladesh. Show all posts
10 Barriers to Financial Inclusion in Bangladesh Identified
Posted by Unknown in Agriculture and Farming, Asia, Bangladesh on Monday, 28 January 2013
The
central bank has identified ten barriers including poor banking
infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, now stand in the way of
financial inclusion in Bangladesh.
"Keeping
in view the number of financially excluded people in Bangladesh, about
half of the adult population is un-banked (48.49 percent) in terms of
deposit accounts in the banks," Bangladesh Bank (BB) said in a working
paper styled 'Financial Inclusion: The Role of Bangladesh Bank,'
released recently.
The
major barrier is geographical or physical access measuring the average
distance from household to bank branch; however, the branches per 1,000
square kilometres could be used as crude indicator for providing an
initial idea to the barriers of inclusion, the paper added.
Citing
an example, the paper said Spain has 96 branches per 100,000 people and
790 branches per 1,000 square kilometres, while Bangladesh has less
than seven branches (or ATM) per 100,000 population and about 67
branches (or ATM) per 1,000 square kilometres.
A
large section of the population who do not have any physical access to
the banking services are in rural and remote areas in the country,
according to the paper.
"As
a competitive and cost effective strategy, major banks focus on large
scale of loans instead of providing services for small size of loan; as a
result, rational business decisions prevent a major portion of people
from accessing loan services including small and medium enterprises
(SME) and agriculture loan," it said quoting poor level of technological
infrastructure.
Promoting
technological and institutional innovations as a means could expand the
financial system access and usage; however, less than four people per
1,000 population in the country are using credit cards identifying the
technological and infrastructural weaknesses, according to the paper.
Other
barriers include lack of proper documentation, inadequate financial
literacy or education, high requirement of minimum balance, low income,
lack of suitable product structure of banks and micro-financial
institutions (MFIs), high cost of product and absence of credit bureau
and insurance of MFI borrowers.
Recent
trend in mobile banking indicates that financial inclusion is scaling
up in Bangladesh especially in rural areas where no bank branch is
available.
"Recent
data show that number of mobile phone subscribers and tele-density have
been increasing substantially over time creating an opportunity for
banks and MFIs to use the mobile technology in the financial services
and serve un-banked people with lower costs specially in the rural
areas," the paper said, adding that rate of overall financial inclusion
is increasing in modest pace.
It
is observed that financial inclusion of total population increased from
39.76 per cent in 2004 to 56.42 per cent in 2010, the paper noted.
In
terms of adult population, it increased from 65.33 per cent in 2004 to
87.23 per cent in 2010 due to opening of a significant number of 10 taka
account in the last two years, according to the paper.
The
BB has recommended that the central banks of the SAARC region can
initiate policies targeting low income populations by introducing
agriculture and rural programmes under a comprehensive monitoring
strategy.
In
this connection, loans to sharecroppers and small enterprises
introduced by the BB has been contributing not only to achieving wider
coverage of financial inclusion in Bangladesh but also to reducing the
high dependence of small and marginal farmers on non-institutional
sources, it added.
Food Security in Bangladesh
Posted by Unknown in Agriculture and Farming, Bangladesh, Climate Change, Food Security, Problems in Agriculture on Sunday, 27 January 2013
Food
security plays an important role in social and political stability of a
country. But sustaining agricultural growth and food security is a
challenge for the present day world, especially for developing
countries.
Climate
change and disasters aggravate the risk further. International
organisations are warning about hunger and food insecurity risks in many
countries. In this context, the Bangladesh government is considering
the issue with utmost priority because Bangladesh is one of the most
disaster prone countries of the world.
The
disaster-hit people need emergency food assistance, as their capacity
to access to markets falls drastically. Increasing population, poverty
(31.5% of the population is still poor), decreasing availability of land
resources and seasonal umemployment in agriculture sector compound the
problems. Thus, ensuring food security and effective disaster management
are the two enormous challenges for the government.
The
country saw unprecedented agricultural growth during the Awami League
government in 1996-2001. This was possible due to pragmatic plans and
effective implementation by the then government of Sheikh Hasina. The
country became cereal surplus for the first time in 1999-2000. Food
grain production rose from 19 million MT in 1996 to 26.9 million MT in
2000-2001.
That,
a rise of about 8 million MT in five years, was almost equal to the
achievements in the previous 25 years (1971-1996). Agricultural growth
was 8.10% and 6.18 % in 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 respectively. Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina was awarded the prestigious CERES Award by FAO
for the country’s unprecedented success in agriculture production and
food management.But the growth trend did not sustain during BNP’s regime
in 2001-2006.
They
did not fulfil their commitments to the people and there was severe
mismanagement in procurement and distribution of agricultural inputs
like fertilizers, seeds, diesel etc.
The
average agricultural growth came down below 3.5%. The BNP government
did not buildup sufficient public stock to face any food crisis.
Consequently, the country’s food security fell to an all-time critical
level in 2007 and 2008, compounded by the global food crisis during the
rule of the caretaker government.
International
prices of rice price rose from $301 per MT in 2006-07 to $665 per MT in
2008-09. This, along with other failures, resulted in domestic price
increase of Tk.35-50 per kilogram. Wheat price also increased similarly
during this period. In this situation, the present government took
office on January 9, 2009 with the pledge to bring down the prices to an
acceptable level. Pledge and renewed focus on food securityThe present
government had to start with the residual shocks and impacts of the
2007-08 food crisis.
In
addition to this, cyclone Aila hit south-west Bangladesh on May 25,
2009. It caused huge damage in agriculture production and water
infrastructure along the coastline.
The
government, therefore, opted for augmenting production and took up
massive programmes. It halved the prices of non-urea fertilizers, made
quality seeds available, increased subsidy on inputs including diesel,
and eased the credit provisions.
Thus,
agriculture production growth bounced back from 3.5% to 4.5%. In the
last two years, the growth increased further. The government has also
maintained conducive output prices for the farmers.
Market
monitoring has also been strengthened to procure food grain after
harvest. International support for improving food securityAfter
assumption of office, the present government launched the National Food
Policy Action Plan (2008-2015) and initiated formulation of the Country
Investment Plan for Food Security (2011-2015). This plan consists of 12
programmes for improving availability of, access to, and utilisation of
food with an involvement of $7.8 billion, of which $5 billion need to be
mobilised.
The
Asia-Pacific Food Security Investment Forum held in Manila in July 2010
and the 36th session of the Committee on World Food Security held in
Rome in October 2010 honoured Bangladesh as a “showcase country” for
this unique policy planning framework. This Plan has thus opened the
window for international support for food security in the
country.Initiative for enhancing access to food for the poorDelivering
food to the poor through the Public Food Distribution System (PFDS) is
the main strategy for ensuring food security for the poor.
The
government has taken initiatives to enhance the coverage and
effectiveness of social safety-net programmes. As a result, the overall
distribution under PFDS in 2010-2011 stood at over 2.29 million MT as
compared to 1.25 million MT in 2005-06.
Accordingly, the allocation to safety-net as percent of GDP increased from its earlier 1.6% to 2.5-2.6% in recent years.
Muhammad Abdur Razzaque
Prized Black Bengal Goats of Bangladesh
Posted by Unknown in Bangladesh, Breeding, FAO and UN, Goat, Zz_Wordpress on Monday, 10 September 2012
(IAEA) Among the world´s poorest countries, Bangladesh is home to one of the richest treasures - prized black bengal goats. The dwarf-size animals are the source of meat, milk, and leather for families - and a big part of the national economy. But changing patterns of land use are threatening the animals´ future.
"Our fallow lands for grazing goats are reducing day by day," says Dr. M. O. Faruque of the country´s Department of Animal Breeding & Genetics at Bangladesh Agricultural University. "It´s because of our growing human population and the need to plant cereal crops."
 |
| Black bengal goats are being studied by Bangladesh scientists participating in an FAO/IAEA research programme in Asia. |
Research supported by the IAEA and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is helping Bangadesh plan and protect the goats´ future. Working with other countries in the Asian region, scientists are looking to learn more about black bengal goats and other livetock. A specific aim is to build up the capacity of national agricultural research systems to conduct research in livestock genetics and breeding using modern methods of molecular science.
"The goat is perhaps the most misunderstood and neglected, but nevertheless important species of livestock in the Third World countries," notes Prof. Md. Ruhul Amin, a colleague at the university. "They play an important role in our country's economy."
Bangladesh scientists are working with other experts to help goat herders and farmers adapt to the changing environment. About 80% of the country´s people live in the countryside, and raising goats and other livestock is a key part of their livelihood.
"Goats have typically been raised as scavengers, but now the traditional rearing system in Bangladesh is under threat," says Dr. Faruque. New approaches to rearing and managing the herds are needed, he says. One government priority is to train tens of thousands of farmers on better ways to raise black bengal goats. Results of the FAO/IAEA research programme are contributing to scientific knowledge about animal health and reproduction underpinning such steps.
No one knows exactly how many goats graze in Bangladesh - some estimates run as high as 30 million. Together they provide about 30 thousand tons of meat and 20 million square feet of hides and skins, besides milk and other products families depend upon.
"Meat and skin obtained from the Black Bengal are of excellent quality and fetch high prices, even in the local market," says Prof. Ruhul Amin.
The FAO/IAEA-supported research, launched in 2004 to run over two phases, is analyzing more that 100 sheep and goat breeds by applying nuclear and molecular tools for DNA analysis. Together, the breeds represent the most important livestock species in the Asian region, numbering nearly one billion animals.
