Bangladesh's NDC

Food System Overview

Food production is vital to Bangladesh’s economy. In the country, agriculture, forestry, and fisheries account for 38% of national employment and 12% of the country’s GDP.[i] Around 84% of the rural population in Bangladesh depends either directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods.[ii] The main commodity produced in the country is rice, which alone accounts for nearly half of agricultural employment.[iii] Fisheries are also an important source of food in Bangladesh.[iv] Additionally, the country faces chronic food insecurity and malnutrition; between 2017 and 2019, severe food insecurity was present within 10% of the country’s population.[v]

NDC Development

Bangladesh’s updated NDC was developed by a consortium of national expert including in agriculture and land use commissioned by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change (MoEFCC). Multiple ministries informed the development of concrete targets and measures in the updated NDC. The development process involved a consultation process that included representatives of various governmental bodies, the private sector, and civil society, though participation from local communities, women, farmers, marginalised groups, and Indigenous Peoples was limited or absent.

Food System Measures

Bangladesh’s NDC includes multiple measures for agriculture to improve infrastructure and reduce emissions from rice fields, fertilizer use, enteric fermentation, and manure management. It commits to reduce methane emissions from rice cultivation by transitioning to Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) irrigation in 20% of all rice cultivation by 2030 to reduce methane. The NDC also includes plans to reduce emissions through changing the variety of rice that they produce for 1.1 million ha of crop lands and improving nitrogen-based fertiliser management in 50,000 ha, unconditionally. If finance contributions are met, the surface area of land for rice crop species diversification and fertiliser management techniques will double, having clear land targets. As part of planned activities, the NDC commits to raise finance for implementing climate-resilient and nature-based agricultural and fisheries initiatives.

NDC Implementation

The country’s NDC describes the forthcoming process of developing an MRV system, which includes plans for multiple stakeholders to collect data and progress on the implementation of the NDC under the supervision of the MoEFCC. Additionally, the NDC indicates that MoEFCC is preparing an NDC implementation roadmap and action plan that will suggest governance arrangements for the NDC and NAP implementation framework.

Sources

[i] World Bank, “Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing Value Added (% of GDP): Bangladesh” (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://data.worldbank.org/country/ bangladesh.

[ii] Global Alliance for the Future of Food. Untapped opportunities for climate action: an assessment of food systems in Nationally Determined Contributions. n.p.: Global Alliance for the Future of Food, 2022.

[iii] Bangladesh Rice Knowledge Bank, “Rice in Bangladesh” (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.knowledgebank-brri.org/riceinban.php.

[iv] Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, “45 Years Agriculture Statistics of Major Crops” (2018). Retrieved from: http://bbs.portal.gov.bd/sites/default/ files/files/bbs.portal.gov.bd/page/16d38ef2_2163_4252_a28b_e65f60dab8a9/45%20years%20Major%20Crops.pdf.

[v] FAOSTAT, “Bangladesh” (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#country/16.