Country Context

Administrative units

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Summary table

Country context

Bangladesh faces food security challenges due to high population density, natural disasters, and uneven resource distribution. Climate change impacts, such as floods, droughts, and cyclones, significantly affect food production.

Statistical reporting units

Bangladesh is split into eight divisions, Dhaka, Chattogram/Chittagong, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barishal, Sylhet, Rangpur, and Mymensingh, containing:

• 64 districts

• 492 upazilas, or sub-districts

• and unions, the lowest administrative units.

Historically, the administrative hierarchy was defined by Divisions containing Regions containing Districts. The ‘Region’ administrative area is no longer used in Bangladesh, and where District-level information is available, we have not recorded the Region.

In general

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• Data from 1982 – 2003 is reported by Region only, and not the more granular District.

• In general, data Data from 2003 – 2016 is reported by District.

We have an outside understanding of the division-region definitions as they existed for the years 1982 - 2015, and have included the appropriate division for the reported data, even if the source table does not provide it.

Variations in the spelling of administrative area names have been dropped, in favor of the most common spelling of the name.

Units of measure

• 1.01605 Bales = 5.60 MT

• 2.47105 Acre = 1 Hectare

• 1.01605 Maund = 27.22 MT

Crop Data

Context

• Major Crops are defined as Aus Rice, Boro Rice, Aman Rice, Potato, Wheat, and Jute.

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Year and season definition

There are two main growing seasons in Bangladesh

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Kharif crops are grown in the spring or summer season and harvested in late summer or in early winter. (~July - Oct)

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• Kharif Season (Spring/Summer): Crops are planted, grown, and harvested from July to October.

• Rabi Season (Winter): Crops are planted, grown, and harvested from October to March.

• A `sub-season,’ pre-Kharif, is defined, but not used to report in these sources.A detailed crop calendar is provided

Annual season in the context of Bangladesh refers to the period from April to April. Crops reported under the annual season are those whose production occurred and is reported within that timeline.

The

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year provided in the source refers to the time period from April to April.

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Primary crops

Major Crops are defined as Aus Rice, Boro Rice, Aman Rice, Potato, Wheat, and Jute.

• Rice: Dominates agriculture, accounting for nearly 80% of the total cropped area. Among the top 5 producers globally.

• Jute: Major export crop, known as "golden fiber". Second-largest producer worldwide.

• Wheat: Important cereal crop. Decreased cultivation in 2018-19 due to a shift towards more profitable crops. Favorable weather conditions and efficient seed and fertilizer management resulted in good yields despite reduced cultivation area.

• Sugarcane: Significant for the sugar industry.

• Tea: Significant export crop. Among the top 10 producers globally.

• Other Crops: Pulses, oilseeds, fruits (mango, jackfruit, bananas), vegetables, and spices.

Binnidana is a quinoa-type grain introduced recently in Bangladesh. It was first reported in the 2018-2019 crop reports and is a Rabi crop fetching good prices in the capital. For more information, you can refer to the following resources:

• IntechOpen

• Daily Sun

• Dhaka Crop

Aus, Aman and Boro Rice

We treat Aus, Aman and Boro as the same crop (rice), being cultivated under different production systems. Bangladeshi sources treat Aus, Aman and Boro as different crops . In fact, the Aus, Aman, and Boro label is best understood as reflecting a mixture of season, crop variety, and production system. Bangladeshi sources report rice production in greater detail than we have recorded here, including more information on production system (broadcast vs transplant) and genetic varieties.

Methodology

• Survey Method: Major Crops crops are surveyed using direct observation of agricultural fields and facilities. All other crops are surveyed by interviewing farmers about recent planting/harvesting activity.

• Surveyors used ~10Sampling Locations: Approximately 10,000 sampling locations are used, visited 4 four times a year, to estimate agricultural data.

• Crop Calendar: Bangladesh has a well-defined crop calendar, and the surveyors report using the crop calendar surveyors use this to accurately capture each crops crop's production and area planted.

• Yield Calculation: When ‘Yields’ are provided by the Agricultural Yearbook sources, they are calculated through precise measurement of a small subset of the sampling locations. When `Yields` Yields have not been provided in the source, we have calculated the yields , they are calculated based on reported area and production.

• Crop Variants: In some cases, different crop variants were tracked in source documents, but only Total Crop figures were are reported hereby FEWS NET. Source documents report Local, Pajam, Broadcast, HYV for Aman Rice; Broadcast, Local Transplanted, and HYV for Aus Rice; Local, HYV, and Hybrid for Boro Rice; Local, HYV, and Indian for Potato.

Data Correction

Steps have been taken to identify and correct flagrant errors in the data, such as misalignments, typos, and misreported figures.