Agricultural

Agricultural Resources of Bangladesh

The land of Bangladesh is very fertile for cultivation. Adequate rainfall, humid climate and vast plain

land made Bangladesh an excellent land for growing different kinds of crops. The methods of Cultivation is called agriculture and the products of cultivation are called agricultural products.      

Most of the people in Bangladesh live in rural areas and their main occupation is cultivation. About 85% people of our country earn their livelihood by cultivation. The agricultural products that grow in our country can be divided into two categories.

(a)   Food crops and

(b)   Cash crops.

The economy of Bangladesh is agriculture based. The main thrust is, therefore, being given to the production of food crops.

Food crops:

The food crops of Bangladesh are mainly paddy, wheat, potato, oil seed and pulses. These are used as food. So, these are called food crops. About 80% of the cultivable land is used for growing food crops. The major cash crops of our country are jute, Tea, Sugarcane, cotton, silk and tobacco.

Paddy:

Paddy is our min food crop. Rich is out staple food. Paddy grows on plain land and on the river bank. It

grows well in hot and humid climate. Generally three kings of paddy are cultivated in Bangladesh.

These are Aush, Amon, And Borro. Plenty of paddy grows in Barisal, Mymensingh, Rangpur, Dinajpur and Faridpur. Two high yielding varieties of rice are IRRI and BIRRI. With the introduction of these two varieties, the production of paddy has increased considerably. In Bangladesh Paddy is grown everywhere, except some hilly regions and forest areas.

Wheat:

Wheat is the second main food crop of our country. It grows in winter. Maximum amount of wheat is produced in Rangpur, Comilla, Dinajpur, and Pabna. Some wheat is also grown in Dhaka, Faridpur and Kustia.

Pulses (Lentils):

Pulses are the common diet in Bangladesh. This crop grows in almost all regions of Bangladesh. Pulses are included in the spring harvest and grows well in the loamy soil. Among the pulses gram, mashur (lentil), Kheshari, Moog, Mashkalai, arhar etc. are major varieties.

Oil seeds:

Oil seeds are grown as the seasonal food crop of winter in Bangladesh. The major oil seeds are mustard, sesame (till) linseed been started in Bangladesh. Oil seeds grow well in Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Mymensingh and Faridpur. The production is not sufficient for our need. So we have to import edible oil and oilseed from abroad.

Cash crop:

The crops by which we can earn money are called cash crops. These crops are grown for direct sale. The major cash crops are jute, tea, sugarcane, tobacco, betel leaf, cotton and silk.

Jute:

Jute is the main cash crop of Bangladesh. The warm climate, high temperature, heavy rainfall and fertile

loamy soil of Bangladesh are suitable for Jute cultivation, Good quality of jute grows in Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Dhaka, Comilla, Faridpur, Pabna, Rajshahi, Bogra and Rangpur. We export just and jute Products in many countries. We can earn a lot of foreign currency by exporting jute and jute products. This is why jut is called the “Golden Fiber’ of Bangladesh. Bangladesh produces about half of the total world production of jute.

Tea:

Tea is the second foreign exchange earning crop. Tea requires heavy rainfall, high temperature and slanted hilly area for its cultivation. Plenty of tea is grown in the hilly and sloppy areas of Sylhet, Babigonj, Maulovibazar, Sunamgonj and Chittagong. Specially Sylhet region alone produce about 90% of total production of Bangladesh. There are about 156 tea garden in Bangladesh. Bangladesh earns a good amount of foreign currengy (about 35 million dollar in a year) by exporting tea.

Cotton is another cash crop of Bangladesh. High temperature, moderate rainfall, lime stone mixed loamy soil is suitable for cotton. Cotton is cultivated in Kushtia, Jessore, Rajshahi, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Dhaka, Maymensingh and Comilla, Shari, Lungi, and other comfortable clothes are made of cotton. We import plenty of cotton.

Silk:

Silk is the remarkable cash crop of our country. Silk is collected from the cocoon of silkworm. The dry weather and high land of Rajshahi, Bogra, Kushtia, Faridpur, Mymensingh are good for silk cultivation.

Tobacco:

It grows well in hot and humid climate. It grows everywhere in Bangladesh. It grows well in Rangpur, Dinajpur, Rajshahi, Pabna and Kushtia. Smoking is bad for health. So we should not take tobacco in any form.

Sugarcane:

Sugarcane occupies an important place in the economy of Bangladesh. Because it is used as raw material for the production of sugar. Sugarcane is, therefore, grown everywhere in Bangladesh. But it grows well in Rajshahi, Kushtia, Faridpur, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Jessore and Mymensingh.