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About Us

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Mission, Vision

BAAG is a not-for-profit professional organization of senior agriculturists and agricultural scientists. The vision of BAAG is to create a food self-sufficient Bangladesh to cater to the food and nutritional needs of all the people of Bangladesh.

Vision of BAAG
BAAG Vision for agricultural research and development (R&D) by 2030 and beyond
Vision Statement

To contribute to strengthening national capacity for agricultural research and development (R&D), innovation and dissemination of advanced technology to farmers. This document has a time horizon of a decade (2030) and beyond and it focuses on options for increasing agricultural production and productivity, farmers’ income and their economic wellbeing contributing to the sustainable economic growth of the country.

Key considerations

In preparing this document the Academy has taken into account the following areas for development that the GoB has identified in the Seventh Five-Year Plan (2016–2020): Creating opportunities for Sustainable agriculture and green growth; application of science and technology for higher levels of food production, agricultural research; crop zoning and land use planning; agricultural inputs (seeds and fertilizers); promotion of precision agriculture; promotion of agriculture diversification and expansion of horticulture crop; use of water resource and water economy; farm mechanization and good agriculture practice. It has also taken into consideration UN’s 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 indicators. Out of 17 SDGs, two most relevant goals to agricultural development are SDG-2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture and SDG-15: Protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. The stakeholders of this document include agricultural research institutes under NARS, agricultural universities, public sector, private sector, policy makers, economists, and development partners.

In setting out its vision, BAAG has examined the current agriculture scenario focusing on major challenges to future development in the agriculture sector, identified priorities for intervention and suggested approaches for transforming the vision into reality.

Agriculture scenario

The economy of Bangladesh is no longer agrarian but still derives considerable strength from the agriculture sector – crops, forestry, livestock and fisheries. With diversification of the economy and acceleration of its growth, the sector’s contribution to the economy is declining. Its share in annual gross domestic product (GDP) in FY2017- 2018 amounted to 14.1 percent compared with 59.6 percent in 1972. Among the sub-sectors, crops contribute to GDP the largest share (9.0 percent) followed by fisheries (3.61 percent) and livestock (1.60 percent) (Bangladesh Economic Review 2018, Ministry of Finance).

Despite its share in GDP declining, agriculture value added (total output of the agriculture sector) increased almost three times from US$12.125 billion (in current value) in 2000 to US$33.496 billion in 2017 (World Bank). The sector’s strategic importance in the economy remains as valid as before because it underpins food security at national and household levels and provides employment to about 41 percent of the labour force besides creating additional livelihood opportunities in rural areas based on agriculture/food processing and marketing.

The sector’s performance is also vital for fulfilling the national targets for at least 21 of 169 SDG indicators across SDGs 2,5,6,12,14 and 15. The country is blessed with a rich biodiversity. Fertile land, subtropical monsoon climate, and abundant water supplies have fostered and sustained agriculture. More than 100 different kinds of crop species are grown round the year. Rice, the staple cereal, by far is the most important crop which accounted for 74.85 percent of area under cultivation in 2015-2016. Other major crops grown are: jute, potato; wheat; oilseed crops, pulses, vegetables, spices and condiments, maize, fruits, sugarcane, fruits, and tea (BBS Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics, 2016).

The fisheries sub-sector contributes 24.41 percent to national income derived from the agriculture sector and also accounts for a significant share in export earnings. It provides about 60 percent of animal protein in our diets. More than 11 percent of the population derives their livelihoods from various income-generating activities in the sector. The livestock sub-sector sector contributes 14.31 percent to total agricultural output of the country. It is an important source of animal protein in diets, employment generation, draught power for farming and raw materials for industry based on hides and skins. (Bangladesh Economic Review 2018, Ministry of Finance). The cont...

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BAAG is a not-for-profit professional organization of senior agriculturists and agricultural scientists. The vision of BAAG is to create a food self-sufficient Bangladesh to cater to the food and nutritional needs of all the people of Bangladesh.

Vision of BAAG
BAAG Vision for agricultural research and development (R&D) by 2030 and beyond
Vision Statement

To contribute to strengthening national capacity for agricultural research and development (R&D), innovation and dissemination of advanced technology to farmers. This document has a time horizon of a decade (2030) and beyond and it focuses on options for increasing agricultural production and productivity, farmers’ income and their economic wellbeing contributing to the sustainable economic growth of the country.

Key considerations

In preparing this document the Academy has taken into account the following areas for development that the GoB has identified in the Seventh Five-Year Plan (2016–2020): Creating opportunities for Sustainable agriculture and green growth; application of science and technology for higher levels of food production, agricultural research; crop zoning and land use planning; agricultural inputs (seeds and fertilizers); promotion of precision agriculture; promotion of agriculture diversification and expansion of horticulture crop; use of water resource and water economy; farm mechanization and good agriculture practice. It has also taken into consideration UN’s 2030 Agenda with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 indicators. Out of 17 SDGs, two most relevant goals to agricultural development are SDG-2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture and SDG-15: Protect, restore and promote the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. The stakeholders of this document include agricultural research institutes under NARS, agricultural universities, public sector, private sector, policy makers, economists, and development partners.

In setting out its vision, BAAG has examined the current agriculture scenario focusing on major challenges to future development in the agriculture sector, identified priorities for intervention and suggested approaches for transforming the vision into reality.

Agriculture scenario

The economy of Bangladesh is no longer agrarian but still derives considerable strength from the agriculture sector – crops, forestry, livestock and fisheries. With diversification of the economy and acceleration of its growth, the sector’s contribution to the economy is declining. Its share in annual gross domestic product (GDP) in FY2017- 2018 amounted to 14.1 percent compared with 59.6 percent in 1972. Among the sub-sectors, crops contribute to GDP the largest share (9.0 percent) followed by fisheries (3.61 percent) and livestock (1.60 percent) (Bangladesh Economic Review 2018, Ministry of Finance).

Despite its share in GDP declining, agriculture value added (total output of the agriculture sector) increased almost three times from US$12.125 billion (in current value) in 2000 to US$33.496 billion in 2017 (World Bank). The sector’s strategic importance in the economy remains as valid as before because it underpins food security at national and household levels and provides employment to about 41 percent of the labour force besides creating additional livelihood opportunities in rural areas based on agriculture/food processing and marketing.

The sector’s performance is also vital for fulfilling the national targets for at least 21 of 169 SDG indicators across SDGs 2,5,6,12,14 and 15. The country is blessed with a rich biodiversity. Fertile land, subtropical monsoon climate, and abundant water supplies have fostered and sustained agriculture. More than 100 different kinds of crop species are grown round the year. Rice, the staple cereal, by far is the most important crop which accounted for 74.85 percent of area under cultivation in 2015-2016. Other major crops grown are: jute, potato; wheat; oilseed crops, pulses, vegetables, spices and condiments, maize, fruits, sugarcane, fruits, and tea (BBS Yearbook of Agricultural Statistics, 2016).

The fisheries sub-sector contributes 24.41 percent to national income derived from the agriculture sector and also accounts for a significant share in export earnings. It provides about 60 percent of animal protein in our diets. More than 11 percent of the population derives their livelihoods from various income-generating activities in the sector. The livestock sub-sector sector contributes 14.31 percent to total agricultural output of the country. It is an important source of animal protein in diets, employment generation, draught power for farming and raw materials for industry based on hides and skins. (Bangladesh Economic Review 2018, Ministry of Finance). The contribution of forestry sector to GDP is estimated at 1.8 percent.

A large part of growth of agricultural production in Bangladesh was driven by its intensification, which means growing more than one crop on the same la