THE ECONOMICS OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH IN BANGLADESH

This paper is a preliminary study of three problems that Government policy-makers who are concerned with agricultural research at different levels have to face. The first problem is the allocation of funds between agricultural research and other investments that the government could make. The study shows that there has been a high pay-off to a very small investment in agricultural research in Bangladesh, and that some of this pay-off has reached all levels of rural society. The second problem facing officials is how to distribute funds between different institutes and between different commodities. Some relatively simple criteria are suggested which could be used in assisting this decision. Applying one of these criteria indicates that rice, fisheries, and livestock should be receiving more funds. The third problem is how to improve the efficiency of research institutes. It is suggested that scientists and administrators need more incentives to do practical research efficiently and also that there needs to be more contact between researdiers and farmers.