Abstract
This paper provides a detailed analysis of agricultural land use change in Bangladesh over a 59-year period (1948-2006) and examines how these have impacted crop diversity, productivity, food availability and the environment. The key findings of the analysis are: first, land use intensity has increased significantly over this period, mainly from the widespread adoption of a rice-based Green Revolution technology package beginning in the early 1960s; second, contrary to expectation, crop diversity too has increased; third, although land productivity has increased significantly, declines in the productivity of fertilizers and pesticides raise doubts over sustaining agricultural growth; fourth, food availability has improved, with a reversal in the dietary energy imbalance in recent years despite a high population growth rate; and finally, the production environment has suffered with widespread soil nutrient depletion experienced in many agroecological regions. The policy implication points towards crop diversification as a desired strategy for agricultural growth to improve resource economy, productivity and efficiency in farming in Bangladesh. © 2010 The Author. Journal compilation © 2010 Department of Geography, National University of Singapore and Blackwell Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.
DOI
10.1111/j.1467-9493.2010.00394.x
Publication Date
2010-07-19
Publication Title
Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography
Volume
31
Issue
2
Publisher
Wiley
ISSN
0129-7619
Embargo Period
2024-11-25
First Page
254
Last Page
269
Recommended Citation
Rahman, S. (2010) 'Six decades of agricultural land use change in Bangladesh: Effects on crop diversity, productivity, food availability and the environment, 1948-2006', Singapore Journal of Tropical Geography, 31(2), pp. 254-269. Wiley: Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9493.2010.00394.x
