The Transformation of Rice Value Chains in Bangladesh and India: Implications for Food Security

Abstract

This paper reports the survey findings that rice value chains are transforming in Bangladesh and India. The main elements of the transformation are as follows: First, rice value chains in both countries have begun to “geographically lengthen” and “intermediationally shorten.” Second, farmers capture about 60% of the final urban retail price of rice; this can be compared to about 23% in 1998 and 37% in 1980 in the United States. Third, the corollary is that about 40% of the value chain is formed by the postharvest segments of the rice value chain—in milling, trading, and retailing. Fourth, while much policy debate centers on direct government operations in food value chains, such operations were, in general, quite small in the rice value chain, except for the Government of India’s purchases from mills. Fifth, the indirect roles of governments have been important in enabling change and at times in providing incentives for transformation. Sixth, government subsidies had important effects, but the evidence of accessibility to subsidies and the impact of the services were mixed. Seventh, the study points to the importance of farm input supply chains upstream from farmers and of midstream and downstream postharvest activities such as logistics and wholesale, milling, and retailing. Policy implications are drawn in the final section of the paper.