3. Agriculture in Bangladesh
The largest sector in the Bangladesh economy is agriculture. Nearly two-thirds of
Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-
important product. The introduction of high yielding rice varieties has
revolutionized rice production in terms of yield per acre (CIA 2007). These
varieties are designed to increase yields and in many cases to reduce disease and
insect problems. The growth of rice was fueled by the introduction of high-
yielding, modern rice varieties, appropriate use of recommended fertilizers and
adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) system (Saharan May 4, 2007).
Rice accounts for 75% of agricultural land use.
Of the 13.7 million hectares of arable land, rice is grown on 10.27 million ha
producing 94 percent of total food grain requirement. (Sitar 2000). There are
three rice-growing seasons in Bangladesh: aus, aman, and boro. Half of the rice
acreage is in aman (summer crop) hence it is the most important rice crop.
4. Technology Adoption and Agricultural
extension
The low rates of adoption of agricultural technologies in developing countries
have been Well-documented, and there is widespread theoretical and empirical
literature attempting To identify the determinants of agricultural technology
adoption in different contexts (Feeder, Just and Silverman 1985, Foster and
Rosinweed 1995, Sure 2009, Conley and Audrey 2010, Duffle, Kremer and
Robinson 2010).8 While the findings differ according to the
5. AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION WORK
scale Limited and sustainability
Policy environments
Policy environments
Low motivation and
Little rigorous evidence
6. INFORMATION, AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION
AND TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION
The complexities of the agricultural production function imply that farmers need
information on a variety of topics, at a variety of stages, before adopting a new
technology. Figure 5 provides a stylized representation of the stages of
agricultural production process, including “deciding”, seeding, preparing and
planting, growing, harvesting, packing and storing, and selling (de Silva and
Ratnadiwakara 2008, Gandhi, Mattel and Tripartite 2009).10 Farmers have
different types of information needs during each stage, ranging from weather
forecasts, pest attacks, inputs (seeds and fertilizer), improved cultivation practices,
pest and disease management and prices. Farmers can obtain information from a
number of sources, including, among others, their own trial and error and from
members of their social network
7. Using ICTs in Agricultural Extension
Voice-based information
Radio dial-up and
SMS-based
E-learning
8. Measuring the Impact of ICT-Based Agricultural
Extension Programs
The causal : impact of ICT-based agricultural programs on farmers’ knowledge,
agricultural adoption and welfare (the “black box”)
Heterogeneous : treatment effects, not only by farmer-level characteristics but
also by the types of information provided.
The cost-effectiveness : of this approach as compared with traditional
mechanisms, and the potential for sustainability
Whether ICT : based approaches are substitutes or complements to
traditional extension programs.