It suggested increasing the spending on agricultural research to 0.6 per cent of the Agricultural GDP from the current allocation of 0.2 per cent, according to a WB report titled 'Revitalising Agricultural Technology System in Bangladesh' released yesterday.

The study report was based on detailed analysis and extensive consultations with various stakeholders, including researchers, scientists, extension specialists, NGOs, agro-processing enterprises, farmers and government officials.

The report said a dynamic agricultural technology system is vital to ensure national food security and reduce poverty in the face of declining agricultural land base and increasing population.

However, the continuing recent trend in agricultural research and extension will have a detrimental impact on the sector, it added.

The WB report identified low levels of government spending on agricultural research, institutional constraints and the inability of agricultural research institutes to generate relevant modern technologies and the inability of agricultural extension system to transfer relevant technologies to farmers, particularly small and marginal farmers, as the major barriers to an effective national agricultural technology system in Bangladesh.

The study said public expenditure on agricultural research is not only low by international standards but also it has declined in the last several years.

"At present, the government expenditure on agricultural research is only about 0.2 per cent of the country's agricultural GDP, compared to 0.62 per cent for other developing countries and 2.80 per cent for developed countries as a group," it said.

Although aggregate spending on agricultural research and extension has increased slightly in the last 3-4 years, it is mostly due to an increase in spending on agricultural extension that is for transfer of technology to farmers, the WB said.

Public expenditure on agricultural extension has increased from 74 per cent in 1997-98 to almost 83 per cent in 2004-05, partly due to a large number of agricultural projects that are being implemented by the agricultural extension departments.

In other words, the WB report said, substantial amount of resources are used to implement the projects rather than for providing agricultural extension to farmers.

"Public expenditure on real agricultural extension needs to be increased to promote productive and competitive agriculture in Bangladesh," it said.

The report recommended institutional reforms for national agricultural research and extension system. It also recommended ways to increase funding and exploring opportunities for growth of commercially high value agricultural products such as fruits, vegetables, fish and poultry.