At the household level, Bangladesh is the prime example of a country in which biofuel supplies (chiefly for cooking) come from the agricultural sector. According to data gathered for FY 1986, 61 percent of biomass energy for fuel use comes from crop residues (jute sticks, rice straw, rice hulls, sugarcane refuse, and other waste products), 24 percent from animal dung, and the remainder from firewood, twigs, and leaves. The firewood typically comes from village trees. The importance of cereal straws means that household energy supply is highly sensitive to changes in agricultural practices and economics and that agricultural policies need to take this into account. The future availability of these fuels was becoming a critical issue in the mid- and late 1980s. Inevitably, new energy resources would have to come from commercial sources. The government and aid donors were struggling with the dilemma of how to provide these needed resources in a manner consistent with the rest of Bangladesh's strategy for long-term economic development and growth.
Data as of September 1988