Promoting the Rural Non-Farm Sector in Bangladesh

Contents: Preface. 1. The framework: identifying the opportunities and challenges for the development of rural non-farm economy in Bangladesh. 2. The agriculture: rural non-farm inter-linkages. 3. Poverty, inequality and access to rural non-farm economy. 4. Regional patterns of development and the rural non-farm sector. 5. The investment climate for rural entrepreneurs. 6. Delivering services to rural entrepreneurs. 7. Strategy and options for promoting the rural non-farm sector. References.

"Promoting the Rural Non-farm Sector in Bangladesh reviews the role of non-farm sector in fostering economic growth and reducing rural poverty in Bangladesh during the last decade. The report evaluates the potential for future growth in the non-farm activities and examines the critical constraints to such growth focusing on sectoral, distributional and spatial issues such as the development of agricultural value chain, growth of rural towns and peri-urban areas, enhancement of productive efficiency of micro, small and medium enterprises, and access of the poor to better rewarding non-farm jobs. The report outlines some options for promoting growth of the rural non-farm sector in Bangladesh."