Problems and Prospects of Organic Horticultural Farming in Bangladesh

 Introduction:
Bangladesh is an agro-based country. Agriculture plays a very significant role in over-
populated countries like Bangladesh. This sector contributes about 21% of total GDP in
Bangladesh. But, the ever-increasing population of this country is creating tremendous
pressure on the land resources. The conventional “chemical-oriented agriculture” of
Bangladesh is causing several harms to human health and the environment. Now, food
safety has become a big issue. Therefore, the farming system of Bangladesh is being
enforced to shift into a new paradigm.

After green revolution, the conventional agriculture of Bangladesh has become heavily
depended on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Unbalanced use of these chemical
fertilizers and pesticides lead to environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity, health
hazards etc. Moreover, the cost of agriculture has increased manifold. In order to get rid
of such problematic situations, the farming system of Bangladesh is in the process of
transformation from “conventional” to “organic” farming.

Organic agriculture is considered to be a suitable agricultural production system to

ensure harmonization between human welfare and sustainable development.
Nowadays, organic products have good local market demand and also potential for
export. Many consumers are concerned about food quality and food safety and eager to
purchase with higher price for healthy foods. Specially, organic vegetables and fruits
are considered most precious and safe food item all over the world.

But, the status of organic horticultural farming in Bangladesh isn’t very encouraging. In
Bangladesh, organic vegetables and fruits are cultivated in a very small scale. The local
level production and consumption situation of organic vegetables and fruits is not very
satisfactory as well. The farmers of Bangladesh are conscious about organic farming but
they only have little knowledge, poor resources and high dependence on chemical
inputs. Absence of proper government policy and government subsidy on chemical
fertilizers is also creating the situation much more complex.

However, it is recognized fact that organic farming in Bangladesh especially organic

vegetables and fruits possesses enormous possibilities. But, it is also fact that less than
5% of our farmers follow organic practices. Consequently, organic horticultural farming
in Bangladesh is still in the infantile stage due to several shortcomings. Therefore, this
study is a modest attempt to discuss the overall problems and prospects of organic
horticultural farming in Bangladesh.
 Problems of organic horticultural farming in Bangladesh:
During the recent years, organic farming system is considered to be a timely practice for
harmonization between human welfare and sustainable development. In Bangladesh,
some agencies and organizations have been working to promote organic horticultural
farming. But, the local level production and consumption situation of organic
vegetables and fruits is still very disappointing owing to several drawbacks.

The major problems behind substandard adaptation of organic horticultural farming in

Bangladesh can be discussed under four (4) core problems. These are:
A. Problems from policy level
B. Problems at farmers’ level
C. Input related problems
D. Marketing related problems
The major barriers to organic farming in Bangladesh can be illustrated as follows:

Problems of organic farming in Bangladesh

Problems from Problems at Input related Marketing

policy level farmers’ level problems related
problems

 Grow more  Poor land  Seed related  Unavailability

food anyway holding problems of products

 Subsidy on  Lack of  Fertilizer  Existence of

chemical inputs farmers’ related middleman
knowledge problems
 Lack of public Lack of
sector extension  Poor capital  Pesticide certification
policy and credit related
facility problems  Lack of
consumers’ trust

Fig: Major problems of organic horticultural farming in Bangladesh.

A brief description of these problems is provided hereby:

1. Problems from policy level:

i) Government thinks: organic farming has negative impact on food security
Political decisions highly regulate the agricultural sector in Bangladesh. In 1965, the
Government launched “Grow More Food” campaign, which introduced HYV rice (i.e.
IR5 & IR8) and provided fertilizers and low lift pump (LLP) at a highly subsidized rate
with pesticide at free of cost. The political government frequently declares ‘we are now
self-sufficient’ or ‘our food security has been achieved’ and they make it a weapon to
win the elections. In policy level, importance is given to fulfill stomach, not considering
disease and health hazard. Nutrition and health development are not given importance
for policy makers. Overall, Government policy is to achieve food self-sufficiency. Govt.
thinks “Organic farming has negative impact of on food security. It is claimed that,
organic agriculture gives lower yields, and there isn’t enough organic fertilizer to boost
yields substantially. Therefore, it is always advertised from the policy level “grow more
food”.

ii) Allocation of budget to subsidy on chemical inputs

Every year, agriculture sector receives a substantial priority in the budget. But, most of
the resources are allocated to short term measures such as subsidy in fertilizer and
irrigation. Only about 2% of agro-budget is allocated for agricultural research.
Unfortunately, no long term strategy had been proposed to conserve or effective use of
agriculture biodiversity, or judicious use of local high yielding variety for improving
food production. Moreover, in 2010, government announced an increased allocation of
subsidy in non-urea fertilizer to 55% than previously proposed 15%. However, the
subsidy mainly targets fertilizer, irrigation and other mechanized agriculture inputs
rather promoting organic agriculture.

iii) Lack of public sector extension policy

Likewise the politicians, the policy makers of public sector extension service are also
offhand about organic farming, let alone organic horticultural farming. Public sector
extension service policy is aimed at ensuring food security for mass population of this
country. The extension organizations are designing programs based on hybrid
technology and HYV vegetables which in turn promoting high input agriculture.
Program based on organic horticultural farming has not yet intended.
2. Problems at farmers’ level:
i) Poor land holding:
Landless, small and marginal farmers constitute about 48% of total farmers’ population
in Bangladesh. Among them, about 45% live below the poverty line. Most of them
depend on sharecropping, which forces them to maximize the short-term benefits from
crop farming. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are therefore more attractive, offering
more immediate returns than organic farming.

ii) Lack of farmers’ knowledge:

Most of the farmers of Bangladesh are illiterate or less educated. So, it is difficult for
them to realize the latent benefits of organic horticultural farming. They are more
interested to conventional farming practices rather than organic farming. Besides, they
lack technical knowledge required for organic farming. Due to such conditions, those
farmers who are interested in organic horticultural farming become discouraged.

iii) Poor capital and credit facility:

As large portion of the farmers of Bangladesh are living below the poverty line, they are
barely able to manage capital for farming. Moreover, formal sources of credit in
Bangladesh are very limited. Some NGO’s are offering credit to farmers; but there have
been several reports of extorting farmers by NGO workers for high interest. So, farmers
are enforced to utilize whatever capital they have in “high input- high output farming”.
Therefore, inadequate capital and poor credit facility are leading them to practice
conventional farming.

3. Input related problems

i) Seed related problems:

Farmers of Bangladesh mainly use three types of seeds: imported hybrid, high yielding
variety (HYV) and indigenous local varieties. Farmers can produce the local varieties
without using chemicals by following crop rotation and maintaining proper
management. The seeds of local varieties can also be conserved for the next season.

However, the government is promoting the use of imported hybrid seeds and HYV.
But, there is problem with imported HYV and hybrids. Their adaptability power is
very less in Bangladesh. Their yield is also dependent on high doses of chemicals which
include chemical fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation water. As a result, organic/ bio-
fertilizer doesn’t work at the time of production.
ii) Fertilizer related problems:

From the green revolution period, government has been promoting chemical fertilizers
to ensure food security for huge population of Bangladesh. Thus, chemical fertilizers
have become a vital constituent of farming activities. So, the production and promotion
of organic fertilizers have become a tough job in aspect of Bangladesh. The major
problems could be identified as:
a) Decreasing cattle population;
b) Use of biomass, crop residues, animal dung, etc. as fuel or fodder;
c) Unavailability of green manure crops due to mono cropping;
d) Lack of farmers’ know how on soil organic matter management;
e) Lack of farmers’ knowledge of low cost compost preparation;
f) Necessity of more labour and hard work to produce organic fertilizer etc.

iii) Pesticide related problems

Before the introduction of HYV varieties of crops, applications of pesticide were very
limited in Bangladesh. During the era of green revolution, govt. motivated farmers to
apply pesticide. Now farmers are so habituated that they cannot think crop production
without using pesticide. Many pesticide companies have been established. They try to
advertise their products and in most cases, farmers become bias. Companies have
dealers in every village. Most of our farmers are not well educated. When farmers
notice about pests and diseases or any kind of problem in their field, they always
interested to go to dealers rather than come to formal extension workers. Dealers take
the opportunity and they recommend and sell their company products.

Another fact is that farmers spray the crops with harmful chemicals as they cannot get
organic pesticides and the components of biological pest control. The Magic Traps are
popular among farmers of Bangladesh but ironically the supply is so little that farmers
face problems for controlling pests in a natural, environment-friendly, safe and secured
way to enhance crop production. There is also huge demand for bio pesticide like
Bracon, Tycograma for vegetables but the government has not yet approved to bulk
import and mass use of pheromones. It could be therefore said that not only lack of
farmers’ knowledge, but also unconsciousness, commercial mentality of pesticide
wholesalers and retailers and lack of government initiatives are responsible for this
increasing pesticide use.
4. Marketing related problems:
i) Unavailability of organic fruits and vegetables:
The availability of organic products in the market is quite a problematic issue. Only a
few organic shops are available in the big cities that are helping farmers to sell their
products by chain marketing systems. But, the supply of organic fruits and vegetables is
merely satisfactory. Besides, there is no promotional activity for organic products. So,
the availability of organic fruits and vegetables is greatly affected.

ii) Existence of middleman:

The existence of middleman in the marketing system is also facilitating the
unavailability of organic products in the local market. They are purchasing the organic
products in a bulk volume without paying premium price to the producers. Moreover,
they mix all organic and non-organic products together and bring them to big markets.
As a result, only a few local consumers are getting organic products. Thus, these
situations are favoring the purchase and consumption of non-organic products.

iii) Lack of certification agency:

In Bangladesh, the agency for certification of organic products is very scarce. We have
no government approved certification bodies to ensure product quality. Recently, a
private company namely “Organic Bangladesh Limited (OBL) has started
standardization of organic products. But, different stakeholders including government
policy level are not encouraging this. However, some organic farmers’ organizations are
ensuring their product quality locally. But, International Standard can’t be ensured by
them. So, organic products are not getting access to export markets due to lack of
proper certification.

iv) Lack of consumers’ trust

The lack of consumers’ trust on organic products is one of the main reasons why
consumers do not buy more organic food. Previously, there were some organic super
markets in Bangladesh. But they failed due to lack of consumers’ trust. It seems very
difficult to make people believe that these are safe food. So, they are not ready to
purchase those products.
 Prospects of organic horticultural farming in Bangladesh:
Organic farming offers a dynamic interaction between soils, plants, humans, ecosystem
and environment. It is not only a philosophy but also a means of achieving
sustainability. Specially, organic horticultural farming can ensure fulfillment of
nutritional requirements as well as economic, social and environmental welfares. The
prospects of organic horticultural farming in Bangladesh can be discussed under
following key aspects:

i) Availability of technical know-how:

During recent years, numerous modern technologies have been developed worldwide
for practicing organic horticultural farming. These technologies can be dispersed among
the farmers to promote organic farming in Bangladesh.

ii) Utilization of homestead and hilly areas:

Bangladesh has about 12 million farm households which consist of about 5% (0.45
million hectares) of total cultivable lands. Besides, the hilly areas of Bangladesh consist
of about 10% of total land. These lands can be easily brought under organic
horticultural farming.

iii) Prospects for consumer acceptance:

Consumers are now turning to organic food because they believe it to be tastier, as well
as healthier, both for themselves and environment. So, the food habit of consumers’ is
taking a paradigm shift and creating vast scope for organic farming of horticultural
crops.

iv) Utilization of local social body for certification:

There is a significant number of “Farmers’ Field School (FFS)” established at local level
of Bangladesh which can be utilized as certification agency for organic fruits and
vegetables.

v) Utilization of government existing program:

Govt. of Bangladesh is running several agricultural programs like “One house is farm
house”, Program for IPM etc. These programs can be utilized for promoting organic
horticultural farming.

vi) Market potential for organic fruits and vegetables:

During recent years, a huge market potential has been developed for organic fruits and
vegetables. Despite the higher cost for organic fruits and vegetables, consumers are
willing to pay for their good nutritional and health quality.
vii) Export potential for organic horticultural crops:
Organic horticultural crops are considered very precious all over the world. Huge
demand exists for organic fruits and vegetables in developed countries. So, there is
tremendous scope for export of organic horticultural crops in the world market.

viii) Scope for rural women empowerment:

In Bangladesh, rural women are always unprivileged and possess minimum socio-
economic status. Organic horticultural farming can help to uplift their conditions and
ensure women empowerment.

ix) Potentiality to generate more income:

Organic products are considered high value crop and their price is much higher than
non-organic products. So, organic fruits and vegetables can help to generate more
income for the producers.

x) Crop diversification and intensification:

Organic farming also helps to promote crop diversification and intensification by
ensuring maximum utilization of crops and livestock.

 Conclusion:

Bangladesh is destined with limited amount of land but an oversized population. To

produce food for 160 million people is a big challenge. But, so-called modern
agriculture system that pays no attention to environment is not a solution. Population
growth holds great threat to our crop productivity. At the same time, the increasing cost
of agriculture put pressure on farmer as well as the economy of the country. Standing in
front of such reality, government should rethink about sustainable agriculture. We have
resources, techniques, and good examples, but need integration and patronization of
good practices. In this circumstance, organic farming practice can emerge as a
promising way to ensure sustainable agriculture in Bangladesh.

Despite several drawbacks, organic horticultural farming holds a boundless

potentiality. At present, both public and private sector organizations are considering
the immense scope of organic horticultural farming in Bangladesh and are planning to
accomplish necessary initiatives. But the invisible hand of multinational companies and
dealers, who are supplying chemicals – creating hindrance for them.
Therefore, government needs to reformulate their policy towards agricultural inputs. At
the same time, adequate knowledge and incentives are needed to promote the
production, marketing and consumption of organic fruits and vegetable. Otherwise,
achieving self-sufficiency in food production and nutritional requirements will remain a
dream.

 References:

1. SIDCA 2006: Promoting Organic Farming in Bangladesh. [Online] Available at:

http://www.eeldis.org/id21et/n1kk1g1.html
2. Organic Farming in Populated Ares: Bangladesh-an example of case study. Available
at: http://www.orgprints.org/29203/2/29203.pdf
3. Bello, W.B. Problems and Prospects of organic Farming in Developing Countries.
Available at: http://www.ajol.info/index.php/ejesm/article/viewfile/41568/8868
4. Mandal, D.N. (2007): Organic farming: an eco-friendly way to sustainable agriculture.
Journal of Agriculture and Environment: Vol. 8 (2007)
5. Hoque, Md. Nazmul (2012): Eco-friendly and Organic Farming in Bangladesh –
International Classification and Local Practice. [Online] (2013). Available at:
Giessen.de/geb/volltexte/2013/8778/pdf/HoqueMdNazmul_2012_06_05.pdf