Suchergebnisse

Extends the model of Ahmed and Bernard (1989)

Using Household Expenditure Survey data from several rounds (1973/74, 1976/77, 1981/82 and 1983/84), the paper analyses the intertemporal shift in the pattern of food consumption in Bangladesh. The analysis is particularly focussed on the rural-urban differential in food consumption pattern and the variation in household nutritional intake between high and low expenditure groups. (DÜI-Sen)

The study presents a land allocation model for use in water resources planning in general and analyses water sector investment for agriculture in particular. Alternative strategies for long-term development of water resources in Bangladesh are discussed. (DÜI-Sen)

In Bangladesh, open market sales of foodgrains co-exists with the public rationing system. The forces that influence the demand for and supply of foodgrains are essentially resolved through the interaction of these two exchange subsystems. The article analyses the interrelationships among various elements in the foodgrain distribution system with the aim of understanding the manner in which market prices are formed. (DÜI-Sen)

Cobb-Douglas functional form has been widely used in estimating production function in traditional agriculture. In this article, the validity of the restrictions imposed by Cobb-Douglas functional form is tested vis-a-vis more general functional forms in a sample of small-holding farmers in Bangladesh. The test results show that the Cobb-Douglas restrictions are validated against both transcendental and translog functions for some agricultural products but not for some others. (DÜI-Sen)

Since the liberation of Bangladesh, the government of Bangladesh introduced a series of policy measures in agriculture and food sectors to encourage pro-market distribution of seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and diesel fuel for irrigation. The dominant feature of the policy reform had been the government's liberalisation of the fertilizer and irrigation equipment markets. These reforms can be reasonably credited with the success in rice production during the 1984-1992 period. Reforms in the foodgrains market in the 1990s reduced the public sector involvement in these markets. Public procurement to stabilise prices and provide production incentives to farmers suffered from certain inefficiencies, although the overall impact of public procurement and price support programmes could be considered positive. The policy reforms were surprisingly smooth partly reflecting the absence of organised lobby by peasants and partly the fact that the policy reforms have benefitted, by and large, all groups of farmers.

A sample of smallholding farmers in the Pabna region of Bangladesh provides data to test predictions of a safety-first model and of a profit maximisation model of farmer behaviour. Of two sets of predictions, the data tend to support those of the safety-first model more frequently than they support the predictions of the profit maximisation model. (DSE)

The authors test in this paper whether or not risk influences the input and crop choices of small-holding farmers in developing countries. The tests are carried out using survey data collected in Bangladesh. The tests indicate some superiority of the safety-first rule, suggesting that considerations of risk do influence these dicisions. (DÜI-Sen)

To meet its overall objective of ensuring food security for all households, the Government of Bangladesh undertakes several activities: it intervenes in markets to stabilize prices, targets food distribution to poor households and provides emergency relief after natural disasters. This paper provides measures of the variability of domestic and international rice prices, and examines the mix of government intervention and private sector participation in rice markets. The analysis shows that the relatively high degree of price stability achieved in the 1990s was due in large part to private sector imports that stabilized markets following major production shortfalls. Domestic rice procurement contributed relatively little to raising domestic producer prices at harvest time, involved only a small percentage of farmers, and incurred excessive costs following successful harvests because of procurement prices set far in excess of market prices." ; Non-PR ; IFPRI1 ; MSSD