Cereal Grains of Bangladesh – Present Status, Constraints and Prospects

*Abul Khayer Mohammad Golam Sarwar and Jiban Krishna Biswas*

> *"Bangladesh has emerged as a global model for combating hunger and obtained great success in becoming a country of food surplus from a country lagged with chronic food shortages"*

> > *– The Christian Science Monitor.*

### **Abstract**

The edible seeds or grains of the grass family Poaceae (conserved name Gramineae) is commonly known as cereals and are cultivated for the edible component, grain consisting of the germ (or an embryo), endosperm and bran. Bangladesh, predominantly an agrarian country, has a long tradition of cereal grains cultivation, consumption and conservation. Rice is the staple food for millions (of people) across the globe including Bangladesh. It occupies more than 96% of the land area under "Cereal Agriculture" in Bangladesh. Maize occupies the 2nd position both in acreage and production followed by wheat and other minor cereals *viz*. barley, sorghum and millets. In this chapter, the historical development and production scenario of different cereal crops and their present status, constraints, challenges and opportunities has been described and discussed. The information presented here would provide a clear inside of the "Cereal Agriculture of Bangladesh" to students, researchers, administrators, policymakers, and the common people as well.

**Keywords:** Cereal agriculture, Historical development, Production trends, Food and nutritional security, Bangladesh

#### **1. Introduction**

The name "cereal" derives from *Ceres*, the Roman and Greek goddess of harvest and agriculture. The edible seeds or grains of the grass family Poaceae (conserved name Gramineae) is usually referred to as cereals (botanically, a sort of fruit called a caryopsis) and are cultivated for the edible component highly nutritious grain consisting of the germ (or an embryo), endosperm and bran. The cereal grains have a high starch content and also contain varying amounts of protein, the embryos often contain oil, and vitamins occur in the outer tissues of the seed. The comparative nutrient composition of different cereal crops is presented in **Table 1**. Cereal grains have


#### **Table 1.**

*Nutrient composition of cereal grains.*

been the most important suppliers of dietary energy for more than 24 centuries and hope to be continued in the coming years. The importance of cereals (in the human diet) is well represented within the logo of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, a wheat ear with a Latin inscription below "*Fiat Panis*" (Eng. Let there be bread). Cereals also have a wide array of virtues and benefits. For example, a long time storage ability due to the yield of mature and imperishable grains that can be gradually used as food or seed for future sowing. The cereal grains were first domesticated by ancient farming communities about 8,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent region, considered to be the cradle of agriculture and food production [2]. Rice and millets were starting to become domesticated in East Asia by the year 7,500 BC. Around the same time, Sorghum and millets were also being domesticated in sub-Saharan West Africa. On average, cereal grain products supply approximately 55% of calories and 48% of their protein requirement of a human diet [2].

Bangladesh, a low-lying, riverine country, lies in the north-eastern part of South Asia between latitude 200 34′ and 260 38' N and longitude 880 01′ and 920 41′ E. The country, with an area of 147,570 sq. km (56,977 sq. mi), is bounded by India on the west-north and north-east while Myanmar on the south-east and the Bay of Bengal on the south [3]. Bangladesh, predominantly an agrarian country, enjoys generally a subtropical monsoon climate. The country comprises a wide range of agro-ecosystems spread over the wetlands, (deltaic) flood plains as well as the hills. The agriculture sector contributes about 14.23% of the country's GDP and employs around 40.60% of the total labour force [4]. Due to its very fertile land and favorable weather conditions, a wide diversities of crops e.g., cereals, pulses, oilseeds, spices and condiments, fibers, vegetables, etc. grow abundantly in this country. Cereal crops occupied more than 75% of the total cropped area of Bangladesh [4].

Among the cereal crops, rice is the staple food for millions across the globe including Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, rice occupies more than 96% of the land area under "Cereal Agriculture". Bangladesh is the third-largest rice producer in the world after China and India [5]. Maize occupies the 2nd position both in acreage and production, but its production is insufficient to meet the national demand, followed by wheat and other minor cereals *viz*. barley, sorghum and millets. Minor cereals, sometimes also called poor man's crops, are rich in dietary fibers, phenolics and polysaccharides, antioxidants, mineral nutrients, etc. These are commonly used

#### *Cereal Grains of Bangladesh – Present Status, Constraints and Prospects DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.97072*

as constituents of special food preparations e.g., kheer or payes, moa (sweet ball of fried millets), porridge, pitha or cakes, pudding, flour, bread, sometimes cooked as rice, etc. and for feeding birds, poultry, livestock fodder and feed in developed countries. In Bangladesh, cereals provide a major part of the calorie intake, although their share in total calorie consumption has decreased from 92% in 1990 to 89% by 2010 with a projection of further decrease to 87% by 2031 and 86% by 2050 [6]. Cereal crops are also a dominating component of the present cropping patterns of Bangladesh. Presently, 316 different cropping patterns were recorded in this country excluding the minor ones, individually occupied less than 0.0001 per cent of the net cropped area [7]. Rice (Boro)-Fallow-Rice (T. Aman) was the most dominant cropping pattern which occupied 26.92% of the net cropped area; whereas the last cropping pattern was the Barley-Fallow-Fallow which occupied only 0.0002% of the net cropped area. Some of the most prominent cropping patterns among these are sown in **Table 2**.


#### **Table 2.**

*List of prominent cropping patterns in Bangladesh.*

In this chapter, the historical development and production scenario of different cereal crops of Bangladesh, their present status, constraints, challenges and opportunities have been described and discussed.
