The demand for rice is constantly rising in Bangladesh with nearly 2.3 million people being added every year to its burgeoning population of 120 million. Bangladesh faces production constraints like drought, lack of irrigation facilities, flooding and salinity of soils. These factors are coupled with fluctuating rice prices in various parts of the country. According to a recent report by the International Rice Research Institute in Manila, the Philippines, the average size of a rice farm in Bangladesh has declined from 1.43 ha in 1961 to 0.87 ha in 1994.