Recent Expansion of Land Tenancy Market in Bangladesh :

Perspectives from the Case Study of Two Villages in Bogra and Tangail Districts

Abstract

In Bangladesh the high economic growth during the last few decades caused the tightened labor markets and high wages even in the agricultural sector. In this context, the land tenancy market, which has been underdeveloped in the country for long, has expanded remarkably in recent years. This paper, based on data collected from all households in two villages from Bogra and Tangail Districts both in 1992 and 2009, confirms the expansion of land tenancy market, clarifies its characteristics, and analyzes the factors which caused the expansion. In spite of the difference between the two villages in terms of the detailed forms, the two phenomena ; i.e., withdrawal from large-scale farming by big landowners and increasing land rental by landless and marginal farmers were observed. The expansion of land tenancy market can be attributed to such factors as, 1）the difficulty in continuing large-scale farming depending on hired labor faced by big landowners because of the wage hike and labor unavailability, 2）the development of remunerable non-agricultural employment opportunities in rural areas such as service, business, and international migration, 3）the development of conditions which enable landless and marginal farmers to manage tenant farming ; such as the development of lease market for power tillers and/or tractors.