1. business and industrial
2. agriculture and forestry
3. crops and seed

What is BRAC?
Hybrid rice cultivation in
Bangladesh as an inclusive value
chain
Why is Bangladesh food insecure?
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annual population growth of 1.8 million people
poverty is at 31.5 % of the population (approx. 23 million people)
climate change
natural disasters – flood 1987, 1988 and 1998, cyclone 1991 and 2007
Food security in Bangladesh is linked to the production, import and price
stability of rice.
Self‐sufficiency in rice production has long been a national objective.
Bangladesh requires an additional 300,000 metric tons of rice a year to
be self-sufficient (GAIN).
www.bracuk.net
Hybrid rice
Hybrid rice is any genealogy of rice produced
by crossbreeding different kinds of rice - it can
produce up to 30% more rice.
In Bangladesh hybrid varieties of rice yield 6.5-9
tonnes per hectare, compared with 4-7 from other
varieties.
www.bracuk.net
BRAC Agriculture and Food Security Programme
RESEARCH AND
DEVELOPMENT
A bio-technology
research lab and a soil
testing laboratory
AGRICULTURAL
EXTENSION
SERVICES
Working with farmers to
increase their yields
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
Two seed processing
plants and nine seed
farms
SOCIAL ENTERPRISE
www.bracuk.net
www.bracuk.net
BRAC’s approach
BRAC has released six hybrid rice varieties : HB 09, Jagoran, Shakti, Shakti 2,
Alloran and Sathi with high yield potential and resistance stress conditions.
Strategy
• to convert single crop areas into double to triple cropped areas
• introduce stress tolerant crops
• to diversify crops – including maize, veg and promoting fish production
• to promote intercropping
How?
• gather a group of 40-50 farmers from disaster and stress prone areas
• provide them each with a grant of 9,000-8,000tk (£68-76) for inputs
• train them in crop production technologies
www.bracuk.net
Impact
In 2014 BRAC
• employed 386 staff as agriculture extension officers
• grow hybrid rice on 8,000 acres of land
• provided14,383 farmers cash grants for cultivation
Result
Farmers produced on average 7.73 t/ha of hybrid rice where the production
cost and gross income of rice was 40,627tk (£346)/ha and 105,023tk
(£896)/ha respectively. A profit of approx. £550
National benefits of hybrid rice
• Bangladesh is producing 4,000 metric tonnes of seeds each year and is
less dependent on global seed imports saving $200million (Agricultural
Advisory Society (AAS), Dhaka).
www.bracuk.net
Sustainable
value chain
approach
Farmers are able to
increase their incomes
through selling hybrid
rice
Build capacity amongst
poor farmers to cultivate
hybrid rice.
Increase internal
resilience to food
insecurity and local
economies are
strengthened
Increase national
purchasing power
and flexibility to
invest in
agricultural
innovation
Develop
highly resistant strains
of hybrid rice
Challenges in promotion of
hybrid rice
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farmers cannot re-use hybrid seeds for next season
higher price of hybrid seed
gaining traction in the market
Adapting to new taste
These issues are being researched and developed for future varieties of rice.
www.bracuk.net
How can Europe support?
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support with research on new varieties of hybrid rice
facilitate learning across Asia
support primary research in Bangladesh
support for diversifying food stuffs grown i.e. veg, maize and fish, vitamin A
rich sweet potato
• DFID UK Aid is already supporting BRAC in Bangladesh
BRAC Agriculture
display plot at
Shirajganj district.
www.bracuk.net
Mohiuddin Gazi is a rice farmer with his
new saline-water tolerant rice variety in
Kathalbariya, Shyamnagar, Shatkhira,
Bangladesh.
A farmer putting compost at his paddy field
to get fertile crops in Haluaghat,
Mymensingh, Bangladesh.
Md. Nijam Uddin now makes BDT 39,375
(£342) extra per year from his hybrid crops,
his sons and daughters are studying at school
and college and he has built a four room brick
house.
Thank you
Lewis Temple
CEO BRAC UK
lewis@bracuk.net
www.bracuk.net
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