Floods in Bangladesh have a significant impact on agriculture and people’s livelihoods. They are the most common disaster affecting crop production in terms of area and yield. However, normal floods are actually beneficial for the environment, especially since rice is crucial for food security in the country. A recent study by the Agricultural Economic Division of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute found that flooding 22 percent of the geographical area is the threshold for rice production in Bangladesh.
Increasing flooding up to a certain level (22 percent) leads to more land being cultivated for rice, resulting in an increase in rice area coverage by 31 hectares and rice production by 492 tons. However, beyond this threshold, further flooding reduces rice area coverage by 2 hectares and rice production by 70 tons. This trend of increasing rice area coverage and production with higher flooding levels has been observed in recent years. The government has provided support, subsidies, incentives, and stress-coping strategies to boost national production and ensure food security. Additionally, research organizations have developed modern rice varieties that are more tolerant to stress and have higher yields, which have been adopted by farmers and extension workers in Bangladesh, replacing local varieties.
Flood impacts rice production in two sequential ways. It affects the rice area coverage and yield, both of these have a direct impact on rice production. On the other way, it can be stated that rice production is the function of area coverage and yield. Flood has a direct effect on crop area coverage. A massive inundation can reduce the crop area significantly which would affect the total production. Inundation for a longer period also affects the area coverage of a crop. However, the stress of massive flood and inundation for a longer period has a direct impact on the yield of the specific crop that has a consequence on the production of the crop.
Flood and Concurring Debt
Recently, constant weeks of flooding has wiped out entire villages and crops in Bangladesh, pushing farmers deeper into a cycle of debt that they can’t escape without more active government help. Short-term assistance is welcome, say farmers, but it won’t help them escape the crippling debt that they sink deeper into with every major flood.
Agricultural debt is one of the major problem in Bangladesh. Farmers lost most of their crops after the flood hits, so they can’t pay previous loan and in the meantime, they have to plant new crops in the field. Which drives them into making more debt with high interest rates. They ran into this debt sink hole again and again.
The Resilience+ Model
Bangladesh government and related NGOs have tried many kinds of flood damage mitigating and production increasing pilot projects. One of them is “The Resilience+ Model”, an emergency loan project for farmers, after the flood, run by BRAC with the help of a researchers team of UC Berkeley with USAID funding.
The project findings demonstrate the significant impact of emergency loans on agricultural investments. Households that were aware of their pre-qualification for the loan planted approximately 25% more rice compared to those who were not offered this financial assistance. Consequently households unaffected by flooding experienced a remarkable 33% increase in crop production.
Furthermore the micro-loans proved beneficial even for households that suffered crop losses due to flooding. Initial data analysis indicates that these households exhibited higher levels of consumption and assets compared to those who did not have access to the loan.
BRAC the organization responsible for providing the emergency loans reported positive outcomes. More than half of the loan recipients repaid their loans ahead of schedule showcasing their commitment to financial responsibility. Additionally borrowers of the emergency loans experienced a notable 5% increase in savings while non-borrowers only saw a 1% increment in their savings.
The emergency loan was primarily utilized by participants to cultivate crops with short growth cycles such as vegetables. By doing so they were able to swiftly bring these crops to the market providing them with an opportunity to salvage a portion of their annual income. Conversely the alternative which often entailed skipping meals or selling assets that could have been used to generate future income was significantly less desirable.
This field trial provides compelling evidence that the emergency loan initiative known as Resilience had a positive impact. After experiencing a flood households were able to promptly access the emergency loan which in turn bolstered their ability to withstand and recover from the disaster. In addition those households that were pre-approved for the loan exhibited a notable increase in their planting activities ultimately leading to enhanced food production.
The findings of this trial highlight an effective approach to mitigating flood damage and fostering increased agricultural output in flood-affected regions of Bangladesh. It shows one of the ways to effectively mitigate flood damage and increase production in flood-hit areas in Bangladesh.
Citations:
- Rahman, M.C., Islam, M.A., Rahman, M.S., Sarkar, M.A.R., Ahmed, R., Kabir, M.S. 2021. Identifying the Threshold Level of Flooding for Rice Production in Bangladesh: An Empirical Analysis. Journal of Bangladesh Agricultural University, 19(2): 243–250. https://doi.org/10.5455/JBAU.53297
2. Bangladeshi farmers drown in debt as floods destroy crops.
Link: https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/
- The resilience+ model