Impacts of Bangladesh’s Agricultural Rehabilitation Program as a Safety Net for Marginal and Smallholder Farmers

This study empirically tests the impact of Bangladesh's agricultural rehabilitation program (ARP) on agricultural production at the household level. A propensity score matching approach is applied to 2010 Household Income and Expenditure Survey data. The sample comprised a control group of 4286 households against a treated group of 446 households. Various indicators such as labor allocation, income generating activities, investment and shock coping strategies were chosen to identify the impact on productive outcomes. The average treatment effect on the treated (ATE) was significant for income generating activities (farm and non-farm), labor allocation (farm and non-farm, self-employment) and investment (agricultural assets, inputs). Due to the ARP, labor moved from non-farm activities to farm activities, with farm activity increasing by 0.40 units, and non-farm activity declining by 0.73 units per household. These results suggest that the ARP is a promising means of providing a safety net for marginal and smallholder farmers in Bangladesh and can contribute to increased productive outcomes.