How Information Technology can be

used to develop Bangladesh Agriculture

 Abstract

Agriculture is a very important sector in Bangladesh. However development of this

sector has been slow and productivity and output as not been up to standard as

Bangladesh has shown immense potential in the past. This research was carried out

to find out whether IT can be used to develop Bangladesh agriculture. Through this

report I have looked at some of the problems that are facing Bangladesh agriculture

today and whether IT can solve those problems. I have also looked in to points that

stand in the way between IT and agricultural development. I have also focused on

areas such as the benefits that farmers can gain by embracing IT. However for my

research to be meaningful I have taken into consideration that it is possible to

provide agricultural areas with high speed internet. And also farmers can gain

access to databases that contains necessary information about proper farming.

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 Table of Contents

Abstract...................................................................................................................... 2

Table of Contents....................................................................................................... 3

Introduction................................................................................................................ 4

Background................................................................................................................ 6

Research Question......................................................................................................9

Hypothesis.................................................................................................................. 9

Methodology............................................................................................................. 10

Data presentation and Analysis................................................................................11

Summery of Research Findings................................................................................22

Recommendation..................................................................................................... 23

Conclusion................................................................................................................ 24

Works Cited..............................................................................................................25

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 Introduction

Agriculture is one of Bangladesh’s most important sectors. It generates 19.6% of

national GDP and employs 63% of total working population. Most rural areas are

dependent mostly on agricultural for food and income. However, even being of such

great importance, the sector is highly undermined. Farmers do not receive

necessary assistance to develop crops. Required information for growing and

managing crops, plowing, fertilizers, pest control, and crisis management are

scarce.

With the help of information technology, farmers can have access to such

information that can help them grow better crops quickly and cheaply. They can

also receive advice on how to prepare for natural disaster like floods and necessary

actions to recover.

IT can support policy-making and evaluation on optimal farm production, disaster

management, agro-environmental resource management etc., using tools such as

geographic information systems (GIS). It can be used to improve farm management

and farming technologies by efficient farm management, risk management,

effective information or knowledge transfer etc., realizing competitive and

sustainable farming with safe products. For example, farmers must make critical

decisions such as what to and when to plant, and how to manage pests, while

considering off-farm factors such as environmental impacts, market access, and

industry standards. IT-based decision support system (DSS) can surely help their

decisions. Secondly, IT can provide systems and tools to secure food traceability

and reliability that has been an emerging issue concerning farm products since

serious contamination such as BSE and chicken flu was detected. Finally, IT can

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take an important and key role for industrialization of farming or farm business

enterprises, combining the above roles.

Even though IT seems highly promising for agricultural development several

obstacles are present on its successful application. First, agriculture stands on the

very complex interaction between biological, climatic and geographical factors in

addition to human economic activities. The information under such a complicated

system is unpredictable, unstable, subjective, site-specific and reliant on empirical

decisions given the inherent variability of biological phenomena. Agricultural

information with these features is typically beyond the scope of the information

science used in industrial information systems. We should also consider how to

easily collect field data. Though field data are the basis for farm decision support,

few people realize the importance of it in developing several decision support

programs.

Information technology (IT) doubtlessly contributes much to agriculture and rural

development. Firstly, it can facilitate rural activities and provide more comfortable

and safe rural life with equivalent services to those in the urban areas, such as

provision of distance education, tele-medicine, remote public services, remote

entertainment etc. Secondly, IT can initiate new agricultural and rural business such

as e-commerce, real estate business for satellite offices, rural tourism, and virtual

corporation of small-scale farms. Thirdly, it can support policy-making and

evaluation on optimal farm production, disaster management, agro-environmental

resource management etc., using tools such as geographic information systems

(GIS). Fourthly, it can improve farm management and farming technologies by

efficient farm management, risk management, effective information or knowledge

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transfer etc., realizing competitive and sustainable farming with safe products. For

example, farmers must make critical decisions such as what to and when to plant,

and how to manage pests, while considering off-farm factors such as environmental

impacts, market access, and industry standards. IT-based decision support system

(DSS) can surely help their decisions. Fifthly, IT can provide systems and tools to

secure food traceability and reliability that has been an emerging issue concerning

farm products since serious contamination such as BSE and chicken flu was

detected. Finally, IT can take an important and key role for industrialization of

farming or farm business enterprises, combining the above roles.

Background

Agriculture is the single most important sector of Bangladesh’s economy.

Bangladesh is unique

in the fact that it has more than one harvest per year. The agricultural year begins

in late February, when the weather is dryer and warmer. Over a period of several

weeks, each field is plowed 3 or 4 times with a wooden plow and two oxen. The

dominant food crop of Bangladesh is rice. Rice production rates have increased

every year, but the production rates have not kept up with the population growth.

Food grains in Bangladesh are cultivated primarily for subsistence. Only a small

percentage of those crops circulate through commercial channels. In places where

irrigation is feasible, it is common for fields to produce two harvests a year. Rice

production currently occupies about 70 percent of the cultivated land, with

Bangladesh producing 17.7 million tons in 1996. Between rice growing seasons,

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farmers will do everything possible to prevent the land from lying fallow. They will

grow vegetables, peanuts, and oilseeds. Other crops are grown mainly for the

domestic market. Some crops are grown mainly for export. Tea is Bangladesh’s

second highest agricultural export. In 1996, 50,000 tons were shipped out of the

country. Jute is the main cash crop. It has strong fibers, which are generally made

into carpets, burlap bags, mats, and upholstery. In 1996, Bangladesh produced

980,000 tons of jute, which was one-fourth of the world’s supply. However, the

development of synthetic fibers has threatened the market for the country’s jute.

Agricultural problems in Bangladesh are becoming more apparent as technology in

other countries improves.

In the context of agriculture, the potential of information technology (IT) can be

assessed broadly under two heads : (a) as a tool for direct contribution to

agricultural productivity and (b) as an indirect tool for empowering farmers to take

informed and quality decisions which will have positive impact on the way

agriculture and allied activities are conducted.

The broad information inputs required by farmers in the new scenario can be

classified as (i) Awareness Databases - those that facilitate proper understanding of

the implications of the WTO on agriculture, (ii) Decision Support Systems -

information that facilitates farmers to make a proper SWOT analysis to take

appropriate decisions, (iii) systems that facilitate Indian farmers to forge

appropriate alliances for collective benefit, (iv) information on new opportunities (iv)

monitoring systems for corrective measures.

IT is playing an important and vital role in agricultural production and marketing. IT

allows farmers to save time on order and delivery and getting feedback. In the

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existing competition, there is a need to rapidly attract new customers as well as

retain existing customers. In order to take the real status of agricultural production

and marketing, there is an urgent need to develop the following items:

1. Farmers’ crop database must be managed. The database includes the kinds of

crops, the size of cultivated area, time of harvest and yield. Farmers or the

extension personnel transmit those data via the Internet to database server.

Further, information provides the farmer with an important instrument for decision

making and taking action.

2. Crops information service system should be created. This system analyzes the

crop data to create some statistical tables. Farmers can access these statistical

data by browsing the homepage and make their production plan. Changes within

the structure of agriculture will probably have an impact on

the selection and types of acquisition of software and other integrated systems

made by the farmers.

3. Production techniques and information inquiry system should be created. This

system integrates the production techniques and information, which are developed

by experimental agricultural institutes and agricultural improvement stations.

Farmers can find out relevant production information through this inquiry service

system.

4. Production equipment’s inquiry service system should be created. This system

gathers information from the companies of seeds and crop production equipment to

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build the production equipment’s inquiry service system. At the same time, allow

relevant companies to access this system and enter their

own data. Therefore, farmers can order the needed items through this system.

Research Question

Through this research I will try to establish a positive relation between agriculture

and information technology (IT); how IT can be used and the benefits that can be

attained for agriculture.

• How is farming done today?

• What are the main problems faced by farmers in relate to farming?

• What can IT provide to solve farming problems and how?

• What are the possible benefits that can be gained by using IT in agriculture?

• To what extent can IT help farmers?

Hypothesis

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Two most important components of IT are Internet and a database that consists of

the data that can be accessed. So in my research I am assuming that the

agricultural areas have high speed internet that can support video conference and

has exceptional download speeds.

I am also assuming that the necessary database is also available and accessible for

the farmers.

Methodology

For my primary research, I will conduct a survey of a randomly selected sample

from the general population to get their perception on agriculture and the

introduction of IT in it. To do this I will develop a questionnaire with a range of

questions to get a useful set of data that will help me answer my research

questions.

For my secondary research I will use the web (Google, Yahoo, Mozilla), magazines,

newspapers, journals, government publications and similar research reports.

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 Data presentation and Analysis

SURVEY PROFILE:

The total sample size for the conducted survey was 20. The sample was asked to

fill out carefully made questionnaires that were developed to answer the research

questions.

1: What do you think is the current condition of the agricultural sector of

Bangladesh?

Excellent; we are really doing well

Good; we are producing enough for ourselves and are exporting as well

Moderate; nothing fancy but we are ok

Not well; we could use some help

Dreadful; we hardly have enough for ourselves

Intention: For my first question I wanted to find out what the general public thought

was the current condition of agriculture in our country.

Result: From my survey I discovered that a half the sample thought that the

condition of agriculture in Bangladesh was in a moderate state. Not much nor less

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2: Do you think the agricultural sector in Bangladesh needs any development?

Absolutely; it is a crucial part of our economy

Yes; our country depends largely on it

No; it is going on pretty fine

Absolutely not; there’s more important things that needs development

Intention: This question was asked to find out if people knew how important

agriculture is to Bangladesh.

Result: Through my survey I discovered that a majority believes that Bangladesh

agriculture lacks some attributes and needs some development.

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3: What do you think is the main problem with agriculture today in Bangladesh?

Farmers lack the knowledge and skill needed to farm.

Improper farming methods

Inefficient technology

Other: _________________________

Intention: This question was asked to find out how informed the general public was

about agriculture.

Result: This question indicated that the major problems with agriculture today are

lack of knowledge by farmers and inefficient technology.

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4: Do you agree that Information Technology can be used in agriculture?

Agree

Disagree

Intention: By this question I tried to find out how many people thought it is possible

to link agriculture with Information Technology.

Result: This question revealed that everyone believed that it was possible to link IT

and agriculture.

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5: Do you think farmers can gain valuable knowledge from Information Technology?

Yes

No

Maybe

Intention: This question was asked to find out whether the general public thought IT

could provide any useful information.

Result: The survey showed that 65% of the sample believed that IT could provide

valuable information to farmers.

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6: Do you think information gained from the IT can be put into practical use by

farmers?

Yes

No

Maybe

Intention: This question was asked to find out that even if IT could be linked with

and provide useful information to farmer, can they be put into practical use.

Result: The survey showed a land slide result. 75% believed that information

attained can very much be put into practical use.

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7: What type of knowledge would farmers be willing to gain from Information

Technology?

Pest control

Harvesting techniques

Weather updates

Soil information

Others (please specify)__________________________________________________

Intention: This question was asked to find out what type of information was most

wanted by farmers

Result: Through my survey I found out that harvesting techniques and pest control

methods were most wanted by farmers. From this we can also come to a decision

that these two are the major problems faced by farmers.

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8: Do you think advance warnings about natural disasters such as flood or draught

can help farmers prepare?

Yes

No

Maybe

Intention: This question was asked to find out to what levels IT can be useful in

agriculture.

Result: The survey showed that 95% believed that IT could also help farmers during

natural disasters. This showed that the usefulness of IT was not restricted to a given

range or limit.

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9: Do you think the farmers would believe all the information they get from IT?

Strongly believe; they will have blind faith on it

Believe; as long as it doesn’t contradict with their existing knowledge

Will not believe; they would simply choose not to implement

Absolutely not; it would completely contradict with their previous knowledge

Intention: This question was asked to find out how much faith the farmers would

have on the information gained from IT.

Result: From the survey it was found out that most believed that farmers would

have faith in the information they received as long as it does not put their existing

knowledge on opposite direction. This would mean if the farmers would rather

believe wrong method that a correct one if it does not match with their current

knowledge.

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10: If the answer to 9 is Strongly believe/Believe, do you think farmers would

actually apply the techniques and knowledge they learn from IT?

Yes

No

Maybe

Intention: This question is related to the previous one. This question was asked to

find out if the farmers did believe the information they get would they actually put it

into use.

Result: The survey showed that ¾ of the sample thought that farmer would apply

the knowledge they learnt from IT.

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11: Do you think IT can change the face of agriculture in Bangladesh?

Yes

No

Maybe

Intention: This question was asked to find out whether the general public thought IT

was the solution to the problems in agriculture.

Result: The survey showed 70% believed IT really could change agriculture. This

means people actually believed IT was the answer to the agricultural problems of

Bangladesh.

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 Summery of Research Findings

Through my research I was able to find out that the general public did think that it

was possible to use Information Technology to develop the agricultural sector of

Bangladesh.100% of the sample surveyed responded that it was possible to use IT

in agriculture.

There are areas where IT can provide valuable information that can change the

face of Bangladesh agriculture.48% of the sample thought that farmers lackon sils

and nowlege was the main problem in agriculture while 43% believed that

inefficient technology was the main problem. 70% of the sample thought that IT

could help develop Bangladesh agriculture

How ever a problem lies in persuading farmers about the benefits of IT. 85% of the

sample thought farmers would accept the the information recived from IT give the

new ideas did not contradict with the old ones. For example IT can give out useful

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ideas about farming that could result in positive results. But the farmers may not

chose to accept the new ideas because they might be quiet different from what

they knew from before. This could be a major challenge in properly fusing IT with

agriculture

Recommendation

To successfully use Information Technology in agriculture much worr is needed to

be done to set up IT in rural areas. And for this the gevernment should take more

initiatives to and involvement in this matter. The government can provide more

funding to set up IT. The government can also tae steps to educate farmers to an

extent where the farmers can understand what IT is, what information the IT is

giving and encode the information in ways that can be useful.

Another recommendation would be to set up work shops that could demonstrate

the possible utiization of the information attained and the benefits gained from IT.

This could help to persuade the farmers to change their old methods and accept the

new and more productive methods.

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 Conclusion

It can be rightly stated that though Information Technology in the agriculture is in

growing stage in the Bangladeshi context. It has just started to spread its shoots,

but with its immense potential to standardize and regulate the agricultural

processes and solve the problems, it is sure that IT will be one of the most

important areas in the near future for agricultural development.

It is hoped that Information Technology will bring a highly developed agriculture by

its worthwhile contributions to the society by narrowing down the enormous gap

between the researchers and farmers. It is suggested that the farmers are to be

made aware of the utility of the Internet and other related information regarding

Information Technology.

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 Works Cited

1. Phougat. S. (2006 August). Role of Information Technology in Agriculture.

Retrieved 25 August, 2009, from http://www.techno-preneur.net/information-
desk/sciencetech-magazine/2006/aug06/Role_Agri.pdf

2. Mittal. S. C. (ND). Role of Information Technology in agriculture and its scope

in India. Retrieved 25 August, 2009, from
http://www.iffco.nic.in/applications/Brihaspat.nsf/c75c8a47921f71b0e525656
900233970/82f2c15ccd4dd9a065256b37001af3fe/$FILE/it_fai.pdf

3. Zakar. R. , & Zakar. M. Z. (2007). Diffussion of information technology

Agricultural Development in the rural Punjab: Challenges and Opportunities.
Pakistan Vision(vol 9) (no. 2).Retrieved 25 August 25, 2009, from
http://www.pu.edu.pk/psc/journal/PDF-FILES/8-Paper%20Zakar%20Complete
%20Paper.pdf

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4. Ninomiya. S. (2004, January 9). Successful information technology for
Agriculture and Rura development. Retrieved 25 August, 2009, from
http://www.agnet.org/library/eb/549/

5. Schmoldt. D.L. (2001). Precision agriculture and information technology.

Retrieved 25 August, 2009, from
http://www.srs4702.forprod.vt.edu/pubsubj/pdf/01t6.pdf

6. Country Studies. (ND). Agriculture. Retrieved 25 August 2009, from

http://country-studies.com/bangladesh/agriculture.html

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