Rural Development and Planning of Bangladesh

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Folder: Bappy>4th year note
RURAL DEVELOPMENT AND PLANNING
CONCEPT AND ELEMENT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT
Sustainable development: sustainable development is a development that means the
needs of present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their
needs.
Rural development:
 The term rural development is the process of improving quality of life of the
people living in rural areas who live often relatively isolated and sparsely
populated area.
 According to Robert Chambers, Rural Development is a strategy to enable a
specific group of people, poor rural women and men to gain for themselves and
their children more of what they want and need. It involves helping the poorest
among those who seek a livelihood in the rural areas to demand and control more
of the benefits of rural development. The groups include small scale farmers,
tenants and the landless.
Scope of rural development:
 Physical development (road, infrastructures, city centers etc.)
 Cultural development (moral and religious value, cultural traits, assimilation
and patterns etc.)
 Social development (social classes, poverty, corruption, economic development
etc.)
 Political development (rights of citizens, political malpractices, state and
governing body etc.)
Elements of rural development:
1. Poverty alleviation and raising living standards.
2. Equitable distribution of income and wealth.
3. Participation of local people in planning, decision making and implementation
process.
4. Wider employment opportunities.
5. Empowerment of more economic or political power to the rural masses to control
the use and distribution of scarce resource.
3 element According to Todaro (1977) basic necessities of life, self-respect and freedom.
Rural development factor:
1. Geographic factor (location, landform, climate, natural disaster etc.)
2. Economic factor (GDP, transport, marketing system, HRM)
3. Technological (Argotic, fertilizer, conservation of agricultural product)

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4. Sociological
5. Institutional
6. Political
Objectives of rural development:
 Encompass improved productivity.
 Increased employment and thus higher incomes and health.
 A national programme of rural development should include a mix of activities,
including to projects to raise agricultural output.
 Create new employment.
 Improve health and education.
 Expand communications and improve housing.
Importance of Rural Development:
 For a country like Bangladesh, rural development is important. The reason
behind this is that most of the people of the country are living in the villages.
 There is a direct link between the rural development and the development of
our national economy.
 The rural sectors contribute about two-thirds of the GDP.
 We can achieve our cherished goal of financial development by the development
of our villages which hold the key to our success.
Indicators of Rural Development in Bangladesh:
A. Poverty alleviation and raising the living standards of the rural poor.
B. Equitable distribution of income and wealth.
C. Wider employment opportunities.
D. Participation of the local people in planning, decision making, implementation
process, benefit sharing, evaluation of rural development programme.
E. Empowerment' or more economic and political power to the rural masses to
control the use and distribution of scarce resources.
Rural Areas of Bangladesh:
 Low level of diversification of economic activities in rural areas.
 Main activity: agriculture, but with low productivity.
 Infrastructure: poorly developed with no investments.
 Unemployment: 26%.
 About 41% of GDP comes from rural areas; rural economy is heavily reliant on
agriculture.
 Life quality and possibilities for work in rural areas in Bangladesh does not
provide sustainable existence and prosperity for its residents.

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 Decreasing number of highly qualified human capacities in rural areas making it
difficult to mobilize and develop local initiatives.
 Lack of budgetary support for rural development.
 Problems with interest and involvement of local actors for rural development.
MAJOR PROBLEMS IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT
1. Socio economic problem:
a) Low level of capital formation
b) Dependency of the economy on agriculture
c) Lack of skilled and educated manpower
d) Unemployment
e) Agricultural loan
f) Lack of foreign assistance
g) Rapid population growth
h) Rural political fluctuations and instability
i) Frequent natural disasters
j) Fiscal institution
k) Underdeveloped market
l) Investment in unproductive sector
m) Others
2. Physical problem:
a) Lack of water
b) Decrease of soil fertility
c) Decrease of crop and animal
d) Natural dependency
e) Limited natural logistic resource
3. Social problem:
a) Land mitigation and agriculture
b) Illiteracy
c) Unconducive rural society
d) Elite dominance in rural development planning and action
e) Superstition
f) Misconception
g) Abuse of local government institutionary
h) Lack of an articulated rural development policy
i) Insufficient or corrupt leadership
j) Instability of rural development institutes
k) Inequitable distribution of benefits arising out of the rural development
program
RURAL LAND REFORMS AND LAND MANAGEMENT

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Land reforms in Bangladesh:
Land reform is the statutory division of agricultural land and its reallocation to landless
people. The land reform is a marginal issue in the policy agendas of Bangladesh
government. For land reform, the agriculture workers organizations have the following
major demands-
1. Stop transformation of agricultural land for other uses; the national land use
policy needs to be finalized upholding the rights of agriculture laborers. First and
foremost, in zoning of land, National Agricultural Policy should be followed. Land
in the rural area under agriculture should not be used for any other purpose;
2. Government should establish a land commission to identify the accurate amount
of khas land;
3. Land policy towards chars should give high priority that all accreted new chars
are undertaken by the government and protected from illegal occupation of land
grabbers;
4. All char lands that are still under occupation of land grabbers should be
recovered immediately and distributed among landless households;
5. The committee for the identification of khas land should be reorganized. The
representatives of peasants’ organization, khetmajur (agricultural labor),
political parties, NGOs, school teachers should be included in the committees at
all levels.
6. The land reform policy should be on the basis of land for the tenants; policy
should permit immediate distribution of khas land among the genuine landless.
7. Eviction of slum dwellers and the rural landless from khas land should be stopped
and they should be fast rehabilitated as promised.
8. List of grabbers of khas land and khas water bodies should be regularly updated
and published; Occupation and filling of khas land, water body, jalmahal in the
name of real estate business or housing should be strictly prohibited.
9. Provisions should be made permitting regular publishing of information
pertaining to the problems of identification of khas land in the daily Bangla
Newspapers, TV, Radio and the same should be disseminated up to the grassroots
level.
10.All khas land distributed should be recovered from the illegal occupants, as soon
as possible.
11.Measures should be taken to minimize the influence of the local influential and
officials in the committee who exercise corrupt practice.
12.Reduce the amount of ceiling of land up to 35 bighas;
13.Khas water bodies should be distributed based on principle “water body to the
fishermen”: Land use policy should assign high priority in identification and
regular updating of information about khas water-bodies by geographical areas;
14.Implementation of rights of sharecroppers and land reform ordinance 1984.
14.1: Land Reform Ordinance 1984:

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 Limitation on acquisition of agricultural land as 60 bigha;
 No benami transaction;
 No eviction, etc, from homestead;
 Settlement of khas land for homestead;
 Cultivation under barga contract
 Recognition of existing bargadars
 Cultivation of barga land after bargadar’s death;
 Termination of barga contract;
 Division of produce of barga land;
 Bargadar’s right to purchase;
 Ceiling of barga land; and
 Restriction of cultivation
Rural Land Management:
1. Rural land zoning, According to University of Delaware-
 Agricultural zoning
 Area based zoning
 Sliding scale zoning
 Agribusiness
2. Conservation of agricultural land
 Defining agricultural zoning area
 Integration of government and private sector to manage agricultural
pollution
3. Agricultural and rural marketing management
4. Facing institutional limitations (integration, cooperation etc.)
5. Facing social problem (corruption, awareness etc.)
6. Land management law
 the registration act 1908 (land distribution)
 The Codes of Civil Procedure 1908 (land dispute)
 Agriculture Khas Land Management and Distribution Policy 1997
 Land Reform Ordinance 1984
7. Protecting rural land from following vulnerabilities (BBS,1988)-
 Floods
 Cyclones and Tidal Surge
 Drought
 Riverbank Erosion
 Saline water Instruction
 Water Logging
 Deforestation
 Plough Plan Formation
 Sedimentation
 Chemical Pollution
 Arsenic Problem
 Global Warming and Sea Level
Rises
 Acidification
RURAL SETTLEMENT

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Settlement: According to Oxford dictionary of geography, a settlement is any form of
human habitation from single house to largest city.
Rural Area: Where the people are engaged in primary industry in the sense that they
produce things directly for the first time in cooperation with nature.
Rural Settlement: Outside of town and cities where population density is low and which
can take the form of a dispersed settlement, a hamlet, or a village.
General Characteristics of rural settlement:
 A remote and a sparsely populated place.
 People support their livelihood from primary economic activities.
 Facilities that provide goods and service for people are amenities.
 These settlements are mainly concerned with primary activities such as
agriculture, mining, fishing, forestry etc.
 Most of the people (more than 50% of adult male) of rural settlement are engaged
in agricultural work.
 Population density is small and the settlement size is small.
 Buildings are of non-durable materials in most cases.
 Other Rural Features: Predominantly Agricultural, Caste System, Jajmani
System, Poverty, Illiteracy, Low Population, Joint Family System, Heterogeneity,
Simple Lifestyle.
Factors of rural settlement:
 Religious factor
 Political/military
 Physical location/benefit
 Culture and ethnicity
 Economic necessities/nature
Elements of rural settlement:
 Human
 Houses (Kutcha, Pucca, Semi Kutcha, Semi Pucca)
 Agricultural land/farm/barn/pasture
 Religious center
 Rural market
Types of rural settlement:
It can be of 4 types-
1. Nucleated/Clustered settlement: The clustered rural settlement is a compact
or closely built up area of houses. In this type of village the general living area
is distinct and separated from the surrounding farms, barns and pastures. The
closely built-up area and its intervening streets present some recognizable

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pattern or geometric shape, such as rectangular, radial, linear, etc. Such
settlements are generally found in fertile alluvial plains and in the northeastern
states. Sometimes, people live in compact village for security or defense.
2. Semi Nucleated Settlement: This settlements may result from tendency of
clustering in a restricted area of dispersed settlement. More often such a pattern
may also result from segregation or fragmentation of a large compact village. In
this case, one or more sections of the village society choose or is forced to live
a little away from the main cluster or village. In such cases, generally, the land-
owning and dominant community occupies the central part of the main village,
whereas people of lower strata of society and menial workers settle on the outer
flanks of the village.
3. Dispersed settlement: Dispersed or isolated settlement pattern in Bangladesh
appears in the form of isolated huts or hamlets of few huts in remote jungles, or
on small hills with farms or pasture on the slopes. Extreme dispersion of
settlement is often caused by extremely fragmented nature of the terrain and
land resource base of habitable areas. It can be found it mountainous areas.
4. Linear settlement: a linear settlement is a (normally small to medium-sized)
settlement or group of buildings that is formed in a long line. Many follow a
transport route, such as a road, river, or canal though some form due to physical
restrictions, such as coastlines, mountains, hills or valleys. Linear settlements
may have no obvious centre, such as a road junction. Linear settlements have a
long and narrow shape. In the case of settlements built along a route, the route
predated the settlement, and then the settlement grew up at some way station
or feature, growing along the transport route. Often, it is only a single street
with houses on either side of the road.
Pattern of rural settlement:
Pattern of rural settlement in Bangladesh:
Nucleated settlement:
Found in northwest in the Barind region (Varendra Bhumi). Assumes a rectangular,
square or circular form. Some nucleated settlements in Barind area are quite large with
2 to 4 hundred families. This is the common type of settlement pattern in Chittagong

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Hill tracts. In Sylhet Basin area this type of settlements are found on artificially built
mounds (hillocks).
Linear Settlement:
In the active delta region, linear villages have been formed on only one side of the
river. Found in the Barind, in the moribund delta region (Jessore, Kushtia, and Faridpur)
or in areas where river erosion is no longer active. These types of settlement are found
on both side of the river. This is the dominant type of settlement on the bank of
Jamuna, Mahananda, Tista, Ganges and the hilly valleys of Chittagong.
Dispersed Settlement:
Found in fertile flood plain where heavy inundation takes place during the rainy season.
People build their houses by raising the homestead land with earth generally by digging
a pond. This type of settlement common in haor areas of greater Sylhet and
Mymensingh.
RURAL MARKETING
Rural Marketing:
 Rural Marketing can be defined as a two way process, comprising a set of
integrated activities which ensure the smooth exchange of products and services
within the rural sector and also between rural and urban sectors.
 The term ‘rural marketing’ used to be an umbrella term for the people who
dealt with rural people in one way or other. It got a separate meaning and
importance after the economic revaluation in India after 1990.
 Rural marketing is defined as managing all the activities involved in assessing,
stimulating and converting the purchasing power of the rural consumers into
effective demand for specific products and services and moving them to the
people in rural areas to create satisfaction and a better standard of living and
thus achieving organizational objectives.
Process of rural marketing:
It is a two-way marketing process wherein-
 Urban to rural - Major part of rural marketing. Includes transactions of urban
marketers who sell their goods and services in rural areas pesticides, fertilizers,
FMCG products, tractors, bicycles, consumer durables, etc.
 Rural to urban - Basically falls under agricultural marketing. A rural producer
seeks to sell his produce in urban market like seeds, fruits and vegetables, forest
produce, spices, milk and related products, etc.
 Rural to rural - Includes the activities that take place between two villages in
close proximity to each other like agricultural tools, handicrafts, dress materials,
bullock carts, etc.
Marketing Channels for Paddy & Rice:
1. Producer – Commission Agent – Miller – Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer

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2. Producer – Itinerant Merchant – Miller – Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer
3. Producer – Primary Wholesaler – Miller – Sec. Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer
4. Producer – Miller – Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer
5. Producer – Miller – Consumer
6. Producer – Govt. Miller – Govt. Shops – Consumer
Marketing Channels for Other Food Grains:
1. Producer – Primary Wholesaler – Flour Miller – Retailer – Consumer
2. Producer – Itinerant Merchant – Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer
3. Producer – Primary Wholesaler – Secondary Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer
4. Producer – Village Shopkeeper – Wholesaler – Retailer – Consumer
5. Producer – Consumer
6. Producer – Govt. Flour Miller – Govt. Shops – Consumer
Nature of rural market:
 Local Retailers
 Shandy / Haat
 Mandi
 Mela
 Trade Fairs / Exhibitions
Classification of rural market:
This can be classified as follows:
a) CONSUMER MARKET
b) INDUSTRIAL MARKET
c) SERVICES MARKET
a) CONSUMER MARKET:
Constituents: Individuals and Households.
Products: Consumables, Food- Products, Toiletries, Cosmetics, Textiles and Garments,
Footwear etc.
Durables: Watches, Bicycles, Radio, T.V, Kitchen Appliances Furniture, Sewing
Machines, Two Wheeler etc.
b) INDUSTRIAL MARKET:
Constituents: Agricultural and allied activities, poultry farming, fishing, Animal
husbandry, Cottage Industries, Health center, School, Co-operatives, Panchayat office
etc.
Products: Consumables, seeds, Fertilizers, Pesticides, Animal feed, Fishnets,
VMedicines, Petroll diesel etc.
Durables: Tillers, Tractors, Pump sets, Generators, Harvesters, Boat etc.
c) SERVICES MARKET:
Constituents: Individuals, Households, offices and Production firms.

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Services: Repairs, Transport, Banking credit, Insurance, Healthcare, Education,
communications, Power etc.
Characteristics of rural marketing:
i. Large population
ii. Primary Occupation pattern
iii. Large, diverse and scattered market
iv. Lower socio-economic position (low per capita income)
v. Inadequate infrastructure facilities
vi. Traditional look
vii. Distant enough from urban area
viii. Conservative lifestyle
ix. Low medical reach
x. Inadequate medical facilities
Growth and changing nature of the Rural Markets:
Rural marketing has 3 phase of changing. The changing phase shows the chronological
growth of rural marketing as well.
PHASE Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase
IV
Origin Pre 1960’s 1960s to 1990s 1990s to 2000 21st
century
Functi
on
Agricultural
revolution in
marketing
Marketing of
agricultural product
Rural
marketing
Developme
nt in
marketing
Major
produc
t
Agricultural
produce
Agricultural inputs Consumables
and durables
for
consumption
and production
All
products
and
services
Source
market
Rural Urban Urban and
urban
Urban and
rural
Destin
ation
market
Urban Rural Rural Urban and
rural
Events  Marketing
rural
products in
rural and
urban areas
 Agricultural
inputs in
rural areas
 “Agricultural
marketing”
 Farming
methods were
primitive and
 Green Revolution
 Companies like
Mahindra and
Mahindra, Sri
Ram Fertilizers
and IFFCO emerge
 Rural products
were also
marketed through
agencies like
KVIC
 Demand for
consumables and
durables rise
 Companies find growth
in urban markets
stagnating or falling

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mechanization
was low
 Markets
unorganized”
Change in rural/agricultural marketing in Bangladesh:
Explanation of the following diagram would help to comprehend the changing pattern
of rural/agricultural marketing. In Bangladesh context-the agricultural marketing and
rural marketing concept is almost same as most of the people of village are engaged in
agricultural activities.
Rural marketing Channel:
A rural marketing channel is the people, organizations, and activities necessary to
transfer the ownership of goods from the point of production (rural area in Bangladesh

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context) to the point of consumption (urban area). It is the way products and services
get to the end-user, the consumer; and is also known as a distribution channel.
Features of rural marketing channel in Bangladesh:
 According to Ghosh and Maharjan (2014), rural marketing channel if Bangladesh
is not organized enough. The marketing channel has no stable patterns. People
buy and sell their product according to their locational, social advantage and rise
and fall of market price.
 According to Jahan (2011), Agricultural marketing system starting with the
farmer, then the nature and way in which this production is initially offered to
the marketing system has a major influence on the organization and operation
of the system itself. Most of the agricultural producer could not understand to
manage their product.
 There are three major marketing functions in Bangladesh such as-1) Assembling
(Procurement, concentration), 2) processing (preparation for consumption), 3)
Dispersion (Distribution).
 Market penetration, distribution channels, promotional campaign strongly
related with the rise of market.
 Most Bangladeshis earn their living from agriculture. Although rice and jute are
the primary crops, wheat is assuming greater importance.
 Tea is grown in the northeast. Because of Bangladesh’s fertile soil and normally
ample water supply, rice can be grown and harvested three times a year in many
areas.
 Due to a number of factors, Bangladesh’s labor-intensive agriculture has
achieved steady increases in food grain production despite the often unfavorable
weather conditions. These include better flood control and irrigation, a generally
more efficient use of fertilizers, and the establishment of better distribution and
rural credit networks.
 With 35.8 million metric tons produced in 2000, rice is Bangladesh’s principal
crop. Bangladesh is the fourth largest rice producing country in the world.
National sales of the classes of insecticide used on rice, including granular
carbofuran, synthetic pyrethroids, and Malathion exceeded 13,000 tons of
formulated products in 2003.
 CASH CROP OF BANGLADESH: Jute, Tea, Tobacco, Cotton, Sugar cane.
 FOOD CROP IN BANGLADESH: Rice, wheat, Mustard (lentil), Potato, chilli, Pulse.
Strength of Rural marketing in Bangladesh:
 Having competent and versatile human resources
 Having a well-set up professional man power
 Location specific agricultural knowledge of ext. officers.
 Possessing generally adequate physical facilities including a network of local
offices

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 Competence in a wide range of extension methods
 Diversified available technologies
 Follow up planning
 Working with groups
 Environmental awareness particularly Integrated Soil fertility & pest worker
 Human resource development institute (ATI & CERDI)
 Farmers training center
Problems of Rural marketing in Bangladesh: According to Jahan (2011)-
1. Farmers do not have control over the output of their production activities to
the same degree as non-farm firms. The production is to a great extent
dependent on weather and biological patterns of production.
2. It takes long periods to change the production of some commodities; market
situation may change during this period.
3. Some firm production is slow and difficult, once an investment is made in
buildings, equipments and other fixed assets, changes are very difficult and
expensive to make.
4. The inability to adjust quickly to changing conditions creates a high risk
element in agriculture.
5. There are some difficulties in improving their prices through independent or
group activities.
6. Cost price squeeze is another component of the farm marketing problem.
7. The superior bargaining power of the buyers of farm products creates a
serious problem.
8. Farmers do not have proper knowledge, skills, and abilities about marketing
decisions.
Market Structure:
Market structure refers to the competitive environment in which buyers and sellers of
the product operate. Market structure is best defined as the organizational and other
characteristics of a market. We focus on those characteristics which affect the nature
of competition and pricing. The concept of a market structure is therefore understood
as those characteristics of a market that influence the behavior and results of the firms
working in that market. The main aspects that determine market structures are: the
number of agents in the market, both sellers and buyers; their relative negotiation
strength, in terms of ability to set prices; the degree of concentration among them; the
degree of differentiation and uniqueness of products; and the ease, or not, of entering
and exiting the market. There are four basic types of market structures. They are-
(1) Perfect competition: many buyers and sellers, none being able to influence
prices.

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(2) Monopolistic competition: many buyers and sellers who sell differentiated
products.
(3) Oligopoly: a few large sellers who have some control over the prices.
(4) Monopoly: single seller with considerable control over supply and prices.
Market Structure of Bangladesh:
1. Perfect Competition
Perfect competition is characterized by many buyers and sellers, many products that
are similar in nature and, as a result, many substitutes. The firms that operate in this
market are very many and will sell closely related products. The consumers will be able
to differentiate the different products and their supplier hence it is hard to overcharge
consumers. Firms in a competitive industry produce the socially optimal output level at
the minimum possible cost per unit. Perfect competition means there are few, if any,
barriers to entry for new companies, and prices are determined by supply and demand.
Thus, producers in a perfectly competitive market are subject to the prices determined
by the market and do not have any leverage. For example, in a perfectly competitive
market if a single firm decides to increase its selling price of a good the consumers can
just move towards the nearest competitor for a better price, causing the firm that
increases its prices, to lose market share and profits.
Real life example in Bangladesh: A Bangladeshi vegetable market might be an
example of Perfect Competition (though real "perfect competition" doesn't really
exist). At the vegetable market, lots of sellers gather together to try to sell the
same wares, and lots of customers try to buy them with a good knowledge of
what they are buying. There is little to prevent someone from joining in on the
selling or quitting the market altogether. If one single seller changes the price it
would not affect the market as a whole therefore more or less a single price
prevails throughout the market for a specific vegetable. There is no barrier to
enter or exit the market therefore anyone could enter into and leave from the
market at any time.
2. Monopolistic Competition
Monopolistic competition is a form of market structure in which there are a large
number of firms that are selling similar but differentiated (by branding or quality)
products to the consumers and therefore are not perfect substitutes. Firms operating
under monopolistic competition usually have to engage in advertising. Firms are often
in fierce competition with other firms and may need to advertise aggressively to let
customers know their differences. Since each monopolistically competitive firm makes

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a unique product, it is the price maker and can charge a higher or lower price than its
rivals. There are a few barriers to entry for the new entrants in the market which
distinguishes it from monopoly.
Real life example in Bangladesh: Restaurants in Bangladesh is an example of
Monopolistic competitive industry. Every restaurant make their own decisions
about pricing and output, consumers might have knowledge about the
restaurants but cannot be sure about it being perfect matching the knowledge
until he/she dines in the restaurant. There is freedom to enter or exit the market
as there are a large number of businesses in this industry. Restaurants are often
in competition with each other offering a similar product or service, and may
need to advertise on a local basis, to let customers know their differences. In
the short run super normal profits may be possible, but in the long run new
similar restaurants would be attracted towards the industry, because of low
barriers to entry, good knowledge and an opportunity to differentiate. Other
examples of monopolistic competition include the banking, tobacco, saloons,
beauty parlor industry etc.
3. Oligopoly: Oligopoly is the form of market structure where there are only a few firms
that make up an industry. This group of firms has control over the price and like
monopoly; an oligopoly has high barriers to entry. The products that the oligopolistic
firms produce are often nearly identical and therefore the companies which are
competing for market share are interdependent as a result of market forces. For
example let us assume that an economy needs only 1000 products. Company A produces
500 and its competitor Company B produces the other 500. The prices of the two brands
will be interdependent and therefore similar. So if Company X starts selling the product
at a lower price, it will get a greater market share thereby forcing Company Y to lower
its prices as well.
Real life example in Bangladesh: Telecom industry of Bangladesh is Oligopoly.
There are only a few companies in Bangladesh operating in this sector therefore
even a slight change in pricing of one company forces other companies to change
their profit in order to retain their market share. There is a sense of
interdependence in this industry the companies give identical services like same
features with almost the same input. New companies can enter the industry but
that would be very tough.
4. Monopoly
Monopoly is a market structure in which there is only one producer or seller for a
product. In other words, the single business is the industry and as a result there are no
close substitutes for the monopolist’s market offering. Entry into such a market is
restricted due to high costs or other factors which may be economic, social or political.
Another reason for the barriers against entry into a monopolistic industry is that
oftentimes one entity has the exclusive rights to a natural resource. For example, a
government can create a monopoly over an industry that it wants to control, such as
electricity, water and other utility services. Therefore the one in monopoly is the price

16
maker. The price of the commodity is decided by the monopolist. However the general
perception is that the marginal revenue should be equal to the marginal cost.
Real life example in Bangladesh: In the context of Bangladesh there are a large
number of sectors which can be characterized as monopoly market structure.
These are Water supply (WASA), Railways, Electricity supply etc. For the purpose
of this report the railways will be discussed. Firstly railway service in Bangladesh
has the monopoly in the market because of the support of the government. Thus
there is single seller in the market for the services. Secondly the price maker for
the railways is the government. Thus the government decides what the prices
are to be set. Railways have their own segment in the transportation thus it does
not have any close substitutes when the prices and facilities are to be
considered. Thus the railways are not having any close substitutes. Lastly the
entry is restricted. There can be no competition to the railways in Bangladesh.
The new entrants are not allowed. This is because if the government loses
control over this segment the public might be exploited. Thus to protect the
public from increased burden of fares the government has maintained monopoly
of railways by having full control over it and not allowing new entrants in the
market.
Market structure of china:
Industry and industrial feature of China:
 Top 5 industry:
1. Manufacturing, mining, industry
2. Other service
3. Retail industry
4. Agriculture, forestry
5. Financial industry
 Industrial statistics:
1. Manufacturing: 22897.4 billion RMB (approximately 4,810.4 billion Canadian dollar)
2. Other service industry: 13083.3 billion RMB (approximately 2,748.6 billion Canadian
dollar)
3. Retail industry: 6620.4 billion RMB (approximately 1,390.8 billion Canadian dollar)
4. Agriculture, forestry, fishery, etc. combined: 6291.1 billion RM (approximately 1,454.0
Canadian dollar)
5. Financial industry: 5750 billion RMB (approximately 1,208.0 billion Canadian dollar)
1. Manufacturing: 33.8%
2. Other service industry: 19.3%
3. Retail industry: 9.8%
4. Agriculture, forestry, fishery, etc combined: 9.3%
5. Financial industry: 8.5%
China’s Market Structure:
It is of three types-

17
1. Oligopolies
2. Monopolistic competition
3. Perfect competition
 Industry (Manufacturing, mining, etc.): Oligopoly and perfect competition
Possible entry barriers:
 increasing returns to scale
 Market experience
 Other service: Monopolistic Competition, easy entry and a lot of business.
 Retail Industry: Oligopoly and Monopolistic competition.
 Advertising
 Increasing returns to scale
 Agriculture, forestry, fishery, etc. combined: Perfect competition, same crop with
same price.
 Financial Industry: Perfect competition.
 legal obstacles
 Market Abuse
GO AND NGO WORKING FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN BANGLADESH
LGED:
Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) is an organ of Bangladesh
government created for provision of transport infrastructures in rural areas and to
provide technical support to the rural and the urban local government institutions
(LGIs), planning and implementation of infrastructure development projects in the rural
and urban areas to improve communication and transport network, job creation, and
poverty reduction.
History: LGED took root in the early 1960s, when implementation of Works Programme
(WP) started to develop physical infrastructure for poor people. In the 1970s, it grew
into a cell of the Local Government Division (LGD) under the Ministry of Local
Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives. In 1982, it became an independent
body named the Works Programme Wing per recommendations of the Enam
Committee[a] to administer Works Programme nationwide, and was renamed as the
Local Government Engineering Bureau (LGEB) per a decision of the National
Implementation Committee for Administrative Reforms (NICAR) in October 1984. It was
upgraded as LGED in August 1992.

18
Function/Activities:
 Preparing of Pre-Project implementation plan, e.g Project Concept Paper(PCP),
Technical Assistance Project Concept Paper (TAPCP), Project Plan(PP) and
Technical Assistance Project Proposal(TAPP) for newly planned projects
 Coordination/Communication among Pre-Project Appraiser, Technical Assistance
Consultant and Fact Finding Mission
 Participating in workshops related to approval of new projects of LGED and
workshop organized by other relevant ministry of government of Bangladesh
 Preparing Project Proposal / Project Concept Paper on rural development and
submitting to top order authority
 Preparing work plan on ongoing projects of LGED and submitting to Chief
Engineer desk
 Establishing linkage of with Flood Action Plan and World Food Programme (WFP)
related planning
 Providing technical assistance to development projects undertaken by LGED
 Analyzing the physical/financial progress on development works carried out of
Zila Parisad, Upazila Parisad, Union Parisad and Pourashava and finally
recommending the pending tasks.
 Planning of schemes under GCCR and Food for Work programme
 Schedule field visit (7 days /month) to field unit of development project and
project physical areas to monitor project implementation works, other
development works and finally preparing report and planning of next phase
pending works.
 Preparing Annual work plan on LGED undertaken development works
 Preparing Five years work plan on LGED undertaken development works
 Create linkage among Local Government Division (for planning new projects),
Planning commission, Economic Relation Division and Ministry of Finance
 Preserving/Archiving of study report prepared by PMU’s of development projects
and using for future project planning
 Approval of causal leaves of Gazetted/Non-Gazetted officers and initiating/co-
signing Annual Credential Report
 Preparing LGED’s tender lists and updating
 Carrying out the priory work assigned by Chief Engineer of LGED
BREB:
Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board or BREB, is government owned and operated
corporation in Dhaka, Bangladesh and is responsible for rural electrification. It is major
power distribution company in Bangladesh.
History: Development plans of Bangladesh has identified rural electrification as one of
the major components of overall infrastructure, implementation of which, it is held,
can accelerate the pace of economic growth, employment generation, alleviation of

19
poverty and improve living standard. A well planned and organizational rural
electrification program was however, not existed till 1970s. The electrification program
as carried out by the Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) was mainly limited
to urban centers and at best to their peripheries. At that time, the Government of
Bangladesh engaged two consulting firms of USA to carry out a comprehensive feasibility
study on rural electrification in Bangladesh. The firms studied all related issues in depth
and put forward recommendation towards a sustainable and viable rural electrification
program. In addition to the new institutional framework, the study emphasized for Area
Coverage and Co-operative concept. It is against this backdrop, Rural Electrification
(REB) was created by the Government of Bangladesh (GOB) in late 1970's through REB
ordinance LI of 1977. The Board is a statutory Government organization primarily
responsible for implementing countrywide rural electrification.
Objective:
 Ensure peoples participation in policy formulation in a democratic way.
 Provide reliable and sustainable electricity to the rural people at affordable
price.
 Improve economic condition of the rural people by using electricity in
agriculture, cottage and agro based industry.
 Improve living condition of rural peoples.
 Bring about entire rural Bangladesh under RE program or an area coverage basis.
Activities: Along with its assistant organization PBS (Palli Bidyut Samity), it works in
the following ground.
 Initial organizational activities.
 Training of manpower.
 Operational and management activities.
 Procurement of funds.
 Providing liaison between Bangladesh Power Development Board, Dhaka Electric
Supply Authority (Bulk power supplies) and other concerned Government and
Non-Government agencies.
 Conducting election of PBS.
BRDB:
Bangladesh Rural Development Board or BRDB, is a government board responsible for
the development in rural areas and is largest government program involved in rural
development in Bangladesh and is located in Dhaka.
History: Comilla model was designed as an experimental program for Rural
Development. On successful experimentation the Government put it on a national
program to replicate the two-tier co-operative system throughout the country under
the agency of Integrated Rural Development Program in 1971. IRDP since its journey in
1971 and based on its success and also to achieve the rural development efforts to be
more accelerated, IRDP was converted as “Bangladesh Palli Unnayan Sangasta in 1973.
But the recommendations from the donor side liked that without having more time to

20
get result from this model, it was not wise to convert the IRDP into a government
organization like “Bangladesh Rural Development Sangasta”(BPUS). On the basis of the
recommendations from donor agencies, the “Bangladesh Rural Development
Sangasta”(BPUS) was again reverted as IRDP in 1974, just after the ten months of the
announcement. After that, an evaluation programs was jointly carried by the
Government of Bangladesh and the World Bank in 1980 and the evaluation program
recommended that the two-tier co-operative structure is a useful and effective device
in implementing the government’s rural development program. On the basis of the
recommendations the IRDP was upgraded into Bangladesh Rural Development Board
(BRDB) in 1982 through an ordinance.
Strategic objectives of BRDB: Translated from Bengali from BRDB website.
 Providing economic service to its members
 Human resource development
 Application of modern technologies to expand agricultural product
 Improvement of work capabilities of poor rural people.
 Employment for rural people.
Activities of BRDB: Translated from Bengali from BRDB website.
 Creating skilled human organization
 Humanitarian and skill development programme
 Management of capital for the consumers
 Providing agricultural loan and microcredit
 Integration among the stakeholders for rural development program
 Rural development and poverty alleviation
 Development of rural leadership and women empowerment
 Providing and expanding technological support for agricultural and assisting to
yield minor crops.
 Rural development through ensuring the sale of yielded crops and its integration
among consumers.
NGOs activities in rural development:
Introduction:
Non- Government Organization (NGOs) started in this country in a limited scale as relief
provides following the devastating cyclone in 1970, which claimed colossal human lives
and properties in the coastal belt and the off-shore islands. Devastations caused by the
War of Liberation in 1971 prompted other foreign and newly established local NGOs to
mount relief and rehabilitation Programs.
Recognizing the need for development for alleviating endemic poverty in the country,
NGOs began to shift their emphasis from relief to socio-economic development and to
pursue –initially rather haphazardly Programs aiming at health care, family planning,
income generation and self-reliance for the disadvantaged and the poor. As poverty
continued to deepen and encompass ever larger numbers of people, more foreign NGOs

21
came to work in this country and at the same time, the members of local NGOs grew
fast.
Definition of NGO:
Generally speaking, the terminology may be used to include any institution or
organization outside the Government, and as such, may include political parties,
private and commercial enterprises, social and cultural organizations, academic and
research institutions, youth and sports clubs, and similar other organizations. In fact
the terminology covers all those organizations outside the government, which are
involved in various development and welfare activities with the objective of alleviating
poverty of the rural as well as urban poor. In Bangladesh, it includes all such
organizations and institutions that are registered with the Government under the
Voluntary Social Welfare Agencies (Registration and Council) Ordinance 1961 and the
Foreign Donation (Voluntary Activities) Regulation Ordinance of 1978.
In the contexts of Bangladesh, the term NGO has been defined “as an association of
persons formed voluntarily through personal initiatives of a few committed persons
dedicated to the design, study and implementation of development projects at the
grass root level. They function outside the government framework but they are bound
by and work within the laws of the land. They are variously involved in multi-sectoral
development projects combined with research welfare services, human capability
development through educational training, technology development m exchange of
information and social communication. Their broad objective is poverty alleviation and
their target groups are primarily the poor and the disadvantaged.
Types of NGO:
NGOs may be widely classified into the following broad groups, which are functioning
in Bangladesh.
1. Donor Agencies:
These comprise international NGOs dispensing funds they raise or receive from their
governments to various NGOs- national and expatriate-engaged in social, economic and
development activities. Apart from providing funds to the local and national NGOs,
some of them implement projects directly. Major such organizations operating in
Bangladesh include OXFAM, Swedish Free Church Aid (SFCA), Canadian University
Service Overseas (CUSO), South Asia Partnership (SAP), The Aga Khan Foundation (AKF),
etc.
2. International Action NGOs:
Such NGOS are those expatriate organizations who operate on various geographic and
sectoral areas with areas with operating funds obtained from foreign donors. Some of
these NGOs are also acting as co-financing agents of their respective governments. Such
major NGOs operating in Bangladesh include Rangpur, Dinajpur Rural Services (RDRS),
Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), CONCERN, Voluntary Services Overseas (VSO),
International Development enterprise (IDE), etc.

22
3. National action NGOs:
There are many of these NGOs in the country. Some of them have earned reputation as
effective organizations helping the poor and the disadvantaged through health
activities, educational and training programmes, and income generating activities.
Prominent such NGOs include Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC)
Proshika Manobik Unnayan Kendro, Caritas Bangladesh, Nijera Kari, etc.
4. Local Action NGOs:
There are organizations operating in local areas covering single or few villages, and are
engaged in traditionally specialized activities in the locality. Sources of funding of these
NGOs include the government and or nationally based donor agencies and other NGOs.
5. Service NGOs:
There does exist some service NGOs in Bangladesh. Generally, they work i the field of
medical service, education and family programme.
Overall Activities of NGOs:
Non-Government organization (NGOs) has emerged as one of the most effective
institution in poverty alleviation interventions the country. Starting with their relief
and rehabilitation role after independence in 1971 NGOs have vastly expanded their
programs and proved to become effective change agents in the society. The NGOs are
mostly involved in design and implementation of direct action oriented projects at the
grassroots level, often combined with research, training, and other components. Their
target population is the poor. Despite variation in perception of the problems and
resolution trust of the programmers. The NGOs mostly follow the target group strategies
where the poor with similar socio-economic interest are organized into groups to
achieve their objectives.
The NGOs have able to bring a positive change in the lives of poor largely following a
process by which members of a society can develop themselves and their institutions in
such way so that they can enhance their ability to mobilize and arrange resources to
produce sustainable life. In order to support social and economic empowerment of the
poor, they have also included group information, micro credit, formal and non formal
education, training, health and nutrition, maternal and child health, family planning
and welfare, women’s development, agriculture, fisheries, poultry and livestock,
environment, water supply and sanitation, human rights, legal aids, land and assets
distribution, etc.
Major innovation by development NGOs:
NGOs in Bangladesh have pioneered a number of approaches to poverty alleviation.
Below are the notable examples of NGOs innovation that have been tried, tested, and
replicated.

23
◙ Group Based Mobilization and Beneficiary Participation:
The most important NGOs innovation has been in the way reach the poor. A group based
or target group mobilization strategy to serves to fulfill not only the goal of economic
improvement but also that of social and institutional development.
◙ Micro-Credit:
The identification of credit as critical need felt by the poor and cost effective delivery
mechanism to service have justifiably become the most well known of the development
NGOs innovations in Bangladesh. The model pioneered by Grameen Bank has established
micro-credit as the most widely replicated anti- poverty program.
◙ Women as beneficiaries:
The micro-credit revolution pioneered in Bangladesh has in fact a double innovation
because women have been consciously targeted as the principal beneficiaries group.
Currently over 80% of the Grameen Bank and other credit giving NGOs are women.
A number of NGOs have organized land less group also whom collectively leased Khas
lands and dry riverbeds. Some NGOs organize and mobilize fishing communities to
protect the fish released into open water. Others promote production of seedling in
village-based nurseries to protect-sal (a local, self regenerating tree) forest. Besides,
the following programs have been taken:
◙ Health education
◙ Non formal primary education
◙ Non traditional agricultural extension
◙ Development of appropriate irrigation technology.
Background Information of developed NGOs:
GRAMEEN BANK:
Grameen Bank originating as an NGO and today incorporated in the Bangladesh Bank,
has been selected for its innovation approach of supplying credit without collateral to
the resource less population. Grameen Bank was establishing in 1976. The rural
development activities of Grameen Bank can be grouped into many broad categories:
◙ provides income-generating activities.
◙ Gives loan for housing.
BRAC
BRAC is the pioneer organization motivating the rural poor form homogeneous target
group as vehicles for integrated rural development and is the largest NGO in
Bangladesh. BRAC establishes in 1972 and changed its development strategy and
concentrated fully on the development of the land less.
The rural development activities of BRAC can be groped into three broad categories:
◙ Capacity building and institutional development of the rural poor.

24
◙ Economic support activities.
◙ Health care and family planning.
BRAC is entirely dependent on external donor agencies for financing its projects for
source of fund. From 1972 to 1980, it received grants and donations of Tk.63 million
from various agencies. Specially, women considered about 44 of the total members.
Beside member s have been able to improve their economic conditions through
economic support programs such as weaving, block printing, joint work, spice grinding,
bamboo work, cow/goat generating, pisciculture, agriculture and kantha making etc.
PROSHIKA
Proshika was founded by social workers trained in BRAC who decided to concentrate
mainly on human development training. Today they are the one of the largest
Bangladeshi NGOs, experimenting with the ideas of giving the resources less population
to change the bargaining power. Proshika was established in 1976. The rural
development activities of Proshika can be grouped into three broad categories:
◙ Building self-awareness and confidence.
◙ promotion of income.
◙ development education.
Especially 40% groups are formed for women.
Program Strategy of NGOs:
Program objectives:
NGOs have been established for rural poverty alleviation in response to the generous
foreign funds that become available beginning with the Bangladesh war of independent
in the early.1971. They seek to accomplish this objective by an integrated holistic
approach, which assumes a comprehensive package of services that are needed to meet
the succession of needs of the poor. The common strategy in all the program approaches
is formation of grass root level beneficiaries group. To determine the access to the
credit by the group repayment behavior, social and economic development and self-
reliant program.
Governing corpse and program administration:Policies, planning and budget are
formulated and approved by the members of governing body and there is a chief
executive who is entrusted with the authority to assign, supervise and guide the project
activities in a comprehensive range of the services to the NGO target groups. He seems
to run this program by his own staffs as well as the staffs of his field offices. He with
his staffs may provide a mechanism of co-ordination among all the field units of an
NGO. Since both the NGOs and some governmental agencies may have common mandate
of poverty alleviation, it is possible for them to complement each other’s efforts
without giving up their institutional commitment while pursuing a common compatible
goal.

25
Action taken by NGOs for more rural development?
NGOs should invest in action research to identify better and most cost effective means
to reach the poor. NGOs working with micro cost effective program should continue to
build on lessons learnt. The critical importance of credit discipline and peer
responsibilities is two examples.
Development NGOs should attempt to spread their work more evenly across the country
and avoid overlaps resulting from concentration in only a few geographical areas and
definition of target groups should reflect local realities and be adaptable to changing
circumstances.
Government and development NGOs should on successful practices collaboration as
achieved in poverty alleviation programs. The Government should involve NGOs in the
design and formation of project through facilitation by ADAB and others NGO network.
In most cases it is found that every field officer has to cover too much beneficiaries
groups and supervision and demonstration cannot satisfy the beneficiaries group
members, especially in case of new groups. Thus the number of competent field workers
should be increased.
Concluding Remark:
There are some problems regarding the activities of NGOs, which includes rural
development. There is no common or ideal modus operandi about the activities of NGOs
from government officials in rural areas. It is a great failure that the policy makers and
developers did not find yet any ideal, socially viable and economically sustained
mechanism for development action. Some scattered efforts have been found in this
respect. But to achieve a unified and ultimate goal in poverty alleviation and human
resource development, a unique ideal and unique mechanism can promote the fragile
situation. So it is highly recommended that, the overall activities of NGOs in rural areas
should be taken under deep observation by forming an especial department
RURAL LAND USE IN BANGLADESH
Introduction:
Land use in Bangladesh has evolved through natural forces as well as human needs.
Cultivated land, forestland, settlements and homesteads are the major land use types
in Bangladesh.
Like many other countries, land is overwhelmingly the greatest national resource of
Bangladesh on which its entire population depends for food supply. To understand the
nature and properties of the soils in Bangladesh and their geographical distribution, this
country has conveniently been divided into three physiographic units having three
distinct geological ages, such as:
a. Tertiary hills (12 %)
b. Pleistocene terraces (8%) and

26
c. Recent floodplains (80%).
Land: Land is the solid surface of the earth; an area or ground. Though land and soil
are same in general sense‚ but geographically and geologically there's a difference‚ and
that is- land includes both plant growing and non-growing surface of the earth‚ where
soil includes only plant growing portion of the earth's surface.
Land Use: Land use or utilization is the satisfaction‚ which the farm population derives
from the type of agriculture developed‚ the provision for future production and the
contribution to national needs. (Buck‚ 1951)
It also has been defined as "the arrangements, activities and inputs people undertake
in a certain land cover type to produce, change or maintain it." (FAO‚1997)
Functions of Land:
1. Production Function.
2. Space function for socio-economic and infrastructural development.
3. Human settlement space function.
4. Biotic environmental function.
5. Climate regulative function.
6. Hydrologic function.
7. Waste and pollution control function.
8. Storage function.
9. Archive or heritage function.
Classification of Land Use: the classification of land according to its use-
A. Agricultural (Used for Cultivation and farming)
B. Industrial (Used as a space for manufacturing industries)
C. Residential (Used as a space for settlement)
D. Recreational (Used as a space for amusement park or entertainment purposes)
Rural Land Use in Bangladesh:
Bangladesh has a large area having rural setting. According to Rashid, only Dhaka and
Chittagong have the appropriate urban setting, other regions of the country have a
strong rural influence.
Rural land mainly has two types of uses- cultivation and settlement. 25% of the total
land of Bangladesh, are invaded by settlement spaces, lest are covered by agriculture
lands or forests.
Physical Basis of Land Use:
An understanding of physical environmental condition is essential for understanding
land use and copping practices in a region. The following phenomena are known as the
physical basis of land use in Bangladesh. According to Brammer-

27
1. Climate: Which includes 4 seasons- Pre-monsoon, Monsoon, Post Monsoon and Dry
Season.
2. Physiography and Relief: Bangladesh has three major physiographic units- Hills,
Terrace and Recent Floodplain.
3. Hydrology: It includes river flow, floods and flooding.
4. Soils: Bangladesh has a wide diversity in soils, and they often occur in complex
pattern.
Crops Produced in Rural Lands of Bangladesh:
The main crop of Bangladesh is rice which occupies 80% of the cropped area and annual
production of rice is 26-27 million metric tons. Apart from this, there are some other
crops that reaches the necessity of population and enriches national economy-
1. Rice
2. Wheat
3. Cereals
4. Jute
5. Tea
6. Pulses
7. Oilseeds
8. Vegetables
9. Spices
10. Fruits
11. Potato
12. Sugarcane
13. Tobacco
Conflicts of Land Use:
Land is a notorious phenomenon for various conflicts in Bangladesh. It's reported that
half of murders in Bangladesh happened because of contradiction of land ownerships.
Also there is a shortage of land in comparison to the size of population.
Calamity and Land Vulnerability in Bangladesh:
The geographical settings as well as some man-made activities have made the country
vulnerable to various natural disasters. These natural calamities occasionally cause
drastic crop failures along with huge loss of lives and properties-
1. Floods
2. Cyclones and Tidal Surge
3. Drought
4. Riverbank Erosion
5. Salines water instruction
6. Water logging
7. Deforestation

28
8. Acidification
9. Plough Plan Formation
10. Sedimentation
11. Chemical Pollution
12. Arsenic Problem
13. Global Warming and Sea Level Rise
Land Use Types Hectares (in 000) %
Total land area 14,845 100
Not available for cultivation 3,700 24.9
Forest 2,255 15.2
Cultivable waste 445 3
Current fallow 2,999 20.2
Double cropped area 979 6.6
Single cropped area 451 3
Triple cropped area 4,013 27
Land use planning measurement: Land use planning includes the following
measurements-
1. Protection of rural land
2. Conservation of the rural land in the peripheral area
3. Regional variation, economic opportunities and regional development
4. Tree farming
5. Other policy measures to support economic development
6. Rural living precincts
7. Managing and improving environmental and landscape attributes
8. Avoiding land use conflicts
9. Implementing of acts and policy
Conclusion:
Appropriate land use and adoption of suitable management technology can enhance
and sustain high productivity and soil management, include crop and livestock
management.

29
Human development Index:
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a composite statistic (composite index) of life
expectancy, education, and per capita income indicators, which are used to rank
countries into four tiers of human development. A country scores higher HDI when the
lifespan is higher, the education level is higher, and the GDP per capita is higher. The
HDI was developed by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq for the UNDP.
HDI Indicators:
Since 1990, the UNDP has been presenting the measurement of human development
interms of human development index in it’s annul human development report. The HDI
is acomposite index of three social indicators:
 Life expectancy
 Adult literacy
 Years of Schooling
It also takes into account real GDP per capita. Thus, the HDI is a composite index of
achievements in three fundamental dimensions;
 A Long and Healthy Life
 Knowledge
 Decent standard of living
HDI Calculations:
The HDI value of a country is calculated by taking three indicators:
 Longevity, as measured by life expectancy at birth. The maximum and minimum
values taken for construction of longevity index are 85 years and 25 years,
respectively.
 Educations attainment, as measured by a combination of adult literacy
(2/3rdsweight) and combined primary, secondary and tertiary enrollment ratio’s
(1/3rd weight). The maximum and minimum values of education index are 100
and 0, respectively.
 Standard of living, as measured by real GDP per capita based on purchasing
power parity in terms of dollars (PPP $). The maximum and minimum values
taken for construction of standard of living index are 40,000 and 100,
respectively.
Rural electrification:
Rural Electrification a major component of overall rural infrastructure aimed at
accelerating the pace of socio-economic development of Bangladesh. In rural sector, it
is identified by the policy planners of the country as a key programme. In the vision
statement of the government it is stated that by the year 2020 electricity would be
made available to all the citizens of the country. The rural electrification board (REB)
was established in 1978 to expedite development efforts. Under the Rural

30
Electrification Board Ordinance of 1977, all the areas of the country, except the
municipal areas of Dhaka, Narayanganj, Mymensingh, Gazipur, Narsingdi districts, rajuk
areas, industrial areas, divisional towns of Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Sylhet and
Barisal with other district towns, cantonments and universities which are already
electrified by Bangladesh Power Development Board (BPDB) are under the jurisdiction
of REB. Based on the universal principle of cooperative, Palli Biddut Samities (PBS) of
REB are formed as democratic, decentralised and autonomous organisations where the
member consumers enjoy equal opportunities and are entitled to exercise equal rights.
Continuous support from the government and donor agencies and the people associated
with the programme and comparative transparent and accountable system of the PBS
has helped to set a high standard of performance of the organisation. The owners of
PBSs are its customer members and PBS management is accountable to a locally elected
Board of Directors and the overall performances of the PBSs are controlled by REB.
REB is basically running on funding from the government and development partners.
Some of the PBSs are still not financially self reliant as most of their consumers are
residential connection holders. A 'PBS Revolving Fund' was established with the help of
financially sound Samities for the PBSs which are yet to be self reliant to reduce their
dependence on government and development partners.

Rural Development Model
2
RURAL DEVELOPMENT MODEL
INTRODUCTION:
Rural development model is one of the major concept regarding the development of rural area.
Few concepts have been developed to improvise and progress the rural condition of a country,
specially in a developing country. Models such as growth pole, Schultz, Comilla and Grameen
Bank are good examples of rural development model. These will be discussed in this article
elaborately.
CONCEPT OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT MODEL:
Rural development is the process of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of
people living in rural areas, often relatively isolated and sparsely populated areas (Moseley, 2003).
Rural development has traditionally centered on the exploitation of land-intensive natural
resources such as agriculture and forestry. However, changes in global production networks and
increased urbanization have changed the character of rural areas. Increasingly tourism, niche
manufacturers, and recreation have replaced resource extraction and agriculture as dominant
economic drivers (Ward and Brown, 2009).
There are four approaches of rural development model, according to Hodge and Midmore (2008)
those are-
1. Sectoral Approach
2. Multisectoral Approach
3. Territorial Approach
4. Local Approach
Figure 1: The evolution of rural development policies (Hodge and Midmore, 2008).

3
PROMINENT RURAL DEVELOPMENT MODELS:
There are several prominent rural development models that will be discussed below-
i. Growth Pole Concept
ii. Schultz Model
iii. Comilla Model
iv. Grameen Bank
GROWTH POLE CONCEPT:
Growth pole refers to the concentration of highly innovative and technically advanced industries
that stimulate economic development in linked businesses and industries. This concept was first
introduced by François Perroux in 1950, was further sharpened in following publications, and
finally evolved into an idea that came to take on a meaning rather different from the one posited
by Perroux. While he had conceived a growth pole to be a focus of economic development in an
abstract economic space, it was interpreted by his disciples, particularly Jacques Boudeville, to be
a focus of development in geographic space.
Perroux, a 20th-century French economist, was largely influenced by the ecopolitical climate
around him when he wrote about the concept of the growth pole. At this time, France was in its
post-World War II phase of rebuilding itself under the Marshall Plan. Urban areas were the
primary centers of economic growth, relying on technology- and innovation-based industries that
thrived on primary resources such as iron ore or agricultural products from the surrounding
region. These concentrations of industries often affected the economies of geographical areas
outside their immediate regions. Also, apparent to Perroux was the dominance of colonial centers
over geographically dispersed colonized areas (Encyclopedia of World Geography, N.D.).
According to growth poles theory, the propulsive pole is a business unit (a company,
industry) or a set of these units and these units are the main force of the economic
development as they generate growth through the impact of strong input-output
linkages. All other industries, which lack the strong character, are called propelled. To
summarize, in this theory the economic development of a regions depends on the
intensity of the propulsive industries on the propelled.
Growth poles theory thus documents the contribution of polarization to the development of
poles as well as peripheries and this theory identifies 4 basic types of polarization (Adamčík,
2002):
• Technological and technical - based on the concentration of new technology in the growth pole,
• Income - the growth pole contributes to the concentration and the growth of income due to
expansion of services and dependence on demand and profit,
• Psychological based on the optimistic anticipation of future demand in the propelled region,

4
• Geographical based on the concentration of economic activity in a geographically determined
space.
Regional implications of the growth poles theory was proposed by a French economist Jacques
Boudeville (born 1919) who called his modified theory the theory of growth centers and
growth axis. Boudeville´s concept of principal cities system was utilized in practice, for instance,
in the spatial planning of France with the following result:
• 3 homogeneous regions (Paris, East and West),
• 8 polarized regions with centers (poles) with each being called "compensatory metropolis",
• 21 planning counties for which plans were prepared to locate investments.
Figure 2: Growth Pole Concept.

7
GRAMEEN MODEL:
Grameen model is a model discovered by Dr. Younus and applied in his bank-Grameen Bank.
It uses a broad set of "action tools" such as business development and health programs centered
around microcredit in order to impact the factors that contribute to poverty. These factors, or
"leverage points" for poverty include creating economic opportunity, raising the status of women,
and others. Grameen sees alleviating poverty as its single goal. Action tools impact multiple
leverage points. For example, housing loans increase adequate housing, economic opportunity,
and the status of women (the houses are in the woman's name). Also, that many connections
exist between leverage points where one impacts the other. For example, lowering the impact
of floods directly or indirectly improves all of the other leverage points (Garvin, 1999).
Figure 4: Grameen Bank Model
Grameen already contributes to stabilizing population by-
• Reducing fertility by raising the status of women and
• Reducing the impact of natural disasters that would create conditions for population growth.
Grameen can do even more by incorporating two additional action tools into their strategies:
family planning and education for women.
Doing so would fit Grameen's current strategy of expanding its services beyond loans. Grameen
could develop ways to integrate family planning and educational services into its own operations,
but it may not want to lose focus from its current strategies. At the very least, Grameen should

8
promote, coordinate efforts with, and lend assistance to other government and NGO programs
that specialize in family planning and education.
COMILLA MODEL:
The Comilla Model was a rural development programme launched in 1959 by the Pakistan
Academy for Rural Development (renamed in 1971 the Bangladesh Academy for Rural
Development). The Academy, which is located on the outskirts of Comilla town, was founded by
Akhter Hameed Khan, the cooperative pioneer who was responsible for developing and launching
the programme.
While the results of the Model ultimately frustrated Khan's ambitions, it has important
implications for rural community development, particularly cooperative microfinance and
microcredit (Yousaf, 2003).
Origin and Purpose: The Comilla Model was Khan's reply to the failure of Village Agricultural
and Industrial Development (V-AID) programme, launched in 1953 in East and West Pakistan
with technical assistance from the US government. The V-AID was a governmental level attempt
to promote citizens participation in the sphere of rural development.
Khan argued that for Comilla to develop rapidly, the farmers in its villages must be able to rapidly
expand their production and sales. The main constraint they faced was inadequate local
infrastructure, especially roads, drains, embankments and irrigation. However, even if the
government had the resources to build this infrastructure, Khan argued, the problem would not
be solved. Once constructed, infrastructure must be regularly maintained. The benefits of it must
be managed effectively based on rules that users could accept and predict. Khan thought that
view it was essential to develop 'vigorous local institutions' capable of performing this type of
local maintenance and management.
For that reason, the Comilla Model piloted a methodology for stimulating agricultural and rural
development, based on the principle of grassroots cooperative participation by the people. Khan
found inspiration for the cooperative development aspect of his model from German cooperative
pioneer Friedrich Wilhelm Raiffeisen, whose rural credit unions had been an early example of
institution-building in predominantly non-literate communities.
Implementation: To simultaneously address problems caused by the inadequacy of both local
infrastructure and local institutions, the Model integrated four distinct components in every thana
(sub-district) where it was implemented:
• Establishment of a training and development centre,
• A road-drainage embankment works program,
• A decentralised, small scale irrigation program, and
• A two-tiered cooperative system, with primary cooperatives operating in the villages, and
federations operating at thana level.

9
Features: The main features of the Comilla Model were:
• The promotion of development and of refining of various institutions, both public and private, and
establishing a system of interrelationships between them;
• Involvement of both public and private sectors in the process of rural development;
• Development of leadership in every village, including managers, model farmers, women
organisers, youth leaders, and village accountants, to manage and sustain the development
efforts;
• Development of three basic infrastructures (administrative, physical and organisational);
• Priority on decentralised and coordinated rural administration in co-ordination with officials of
various government departments and the representatives of public organisations.
• Integration and co-ordination of the various developing services, institutions and projects;
• Education, organisation and discipline;
• Economic planning and technology;
• Development of a stable and progressive agriculture to improve the conditions of the farmers,
and provide employment to rural labour force (Quddus, 1993).
REFERENCES:
• Encyclopedia of World Geography (N.D.) Growth Pole, Retrieved from:
http://geography.name/growth-pole/ [Accessed on 1st April, 2017].
• Garvin, L. (1999) Population Environment Dynamics, Retrieved from:
http://www.umich.edu/~csfound/545/1998/lgarvin/popenv.html [Accessed on 1st April,
2017].
• Hodge, I. and Midmore, P. (2008) Models of Rural Development and Approaches To
Analysis Evaluation And Decision-Making, economierurale,307, p-23-38.
• Moseley, M. J. (2003) Rural development : principles and practice, London, p-5.
• Qussus, M.A. (1993) Rural Development in Bangladesh.
• Schulz von Thun Institute for Communication (N.D.) 4 Sides Model (in German),
Retrieved from: https://www.schulz-von-thun.de/index.php?article_id=71 [Accessed on
1st April, 2017].
• Ward, N and Brown, D. L. (2009) Placing the Rural in Regional Development, Regional
Studies, 43 (10).
• Yousaf, N. (2003) Allama Mashriqi and Dr. Akhtar Hameed Khan: Two Legends of
Pakistan.

SCHUITZ MODEL
Evolution of the model:
 Schuitz model was given by Schuitz in 1979.
 The model is not applied in Bangladesh context.
 Senapur and Punjab in India is the applicable place for this model.
 The model is transforming concept of the traditional agricultural system into modern one.
Characteristics of the theory:
 Application of the technology does not felicitate crop yield.
 Researches has not yet identified which is most important in agriculture among the land,
capital and labour.
 Investment is not often fruitful.
Premises of the theory:
 In traditional agricultural system, the farmers are very skilled and they are capable to
produce good crop. Foreign advisors have no significant role in crop yielding.
 Farmers can be benefitted by producing and selling crops since they have sufficient
knowledge about the cultivation tools, which is very beneficial for their economic
development.
 Region with agricultural infrastructures would be developed soon.

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