Bangladesh and Nepal are two important rice economics of South Asia with large rice consuming populations. Rice productivity in these countries often goes beyond food security to social and economic stability and environmental sustainability. However there is a stark difference in the rice productivity of both Bangladesh and Nepal.
Dr. Jongshoo Shin, Regional Director, Asia at the International Rice Research Institute, opened the session on the Transformation of rice value chains in Bangladesh and Nepal: Status, challenges, and vision . Shin invited panelists to share a bigger picture of Bangladesh and Nepal to help analyze factors that negatively impact rice productivity, post-harvest losses, market linkages, and access to finance. Panelists were also asked to put forward a viable direction and set of solutions to the challenges both countries are facing in this area.
The first presentation of the session was on the transformation of the rice value chains in Bangladesh by Dr. Md Shahjahan Kabir, Director General, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), where he spoke about the history of rice farming in Bangladesh, how the country moved from being a food-deficit country to being a food surplus nation and the drivers which led to this success.
“Significant transformations have been brought with the introduction of the new and productive boro rice season, the development and adoption of more productive high yielding varieties, increasing cropping intensities and diversified cropping, and introduction and adoption of stress tolerant varieties of rice,” Dr. Kabir said. He also commended the support which the country has received from the government of Bangladesh in terms of policy and funding which have significantly helped farmers and ushered in a more vibrant agricultural community. He also pointed out the role which BRRI and the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) have played in strengthening the country’s…