Abstract only

An impact study of the Bangladesh agricultural research and extension system was undertaken for varietal development interventions of rice, wheat, potatoes, sugarcane, and jute. The study focused on contributions made by the research and extension system to varietal development over the past ten to twenty years. The study looked at five impact areas: (1) trends in agricultural production and yield/ hectare productivity growth; (2) percentage adoption of post-1980 varieties and incremental production due to adoption; (3) economic rates of return to research and extension expenditures on varietal development, using the economic surplus methodology; (4) foreign exchange earned or saved from new varietal development; and (5) the rate of varietal adoption and replacement. The findings indicate: (1) that the growth in agricultural production and partial productivity growth rates (yield/ha) among the major crops varied; some crops exhibited highly positive production and yield/ha growth rates (Boro rice, wheat, potatoes, jute) while some exhibited negative growth rates(T. Aman and Aus rice, and sugarcane); (2) the highest adoption and incremental production rates were for rice, wheat and potatoes, while sugarcane and jute adoption and incremental production rates were much lower; (3) there were high rates of return to research and extension for some major crops (rice, wheat, potatoes) but more modest returns for others (sugarcane, jute); (4) substantial foreign exchange savings have been made for rice (US$ 3.8 billion in 1997-98 prices), while foreign exchange savings for wheat (US$ 0.16 billion) and sugarcane (US$ 0.08 billion) were more modest. Jute earned additional foreign exchange of US$ 0.07 billion and (5) the rate of varietal adoption and timely replacement of older varieties is a cause for concern-the 1995-1999 mean average age of T. Aman rice varieties is 24.6 years, wheat 15.7 years, and sugarcane 18.9 years and the dominant variety in terms of area planted for each of these crops was released in the early 1980s. The high rates of return, since 1980, of the commodities studied are an indication that the Bangladesh research and extension system has done reasonably well. However, there is no room for complacency. Because of poor adoption by farmers, many research projects and interventions developed by the Bangladesh national agricultural research system have yet to show a return on research and extension investment. This study demonstrates that the rate of return on benefits from the aggregate of all research and extension benefits, relative to the total of all research and extension expenditures would be much lower for rice, wheat, and potatoes. The immediate future economic returns to research and extension and future productivity gains from varietal development and adoption is uncertain in light of the low new varietal adoption rates and low varietal replacement rates of major commodities. Increasing research and extension funding is only part of the answer. To effectively utilize any increased funding, research and extension systems require further institution building and strengthening, research priority setting, and increasing management and research capacity.

English

0309|R01CIMPU|AGRIS 0301|AL-Economics Program

Juan Carlos Mendieta

CIMMYT Publications Collection