ICTs for Better Marketing of Agricultural Produce in Bangladesh
1. Introduction

Agriculture is the most important sector in the economy of Bangladesh. As the largest private enterprise, agriculture contributes about 21% of the GDP, sustains the livelihood of about 52% of the labour force and remains a major supplier of raw materials for agro-based industries in Bangladesh [1]. The rural economy of Bangladesh is transforming, the specific manifestation is non-farm economy is flourishing. Out of 80% of total population living in rural areas, 46% are employed in the non-farm sector [2]. In Bangladesh, the alarming trend is that income share of lower tier people has decreased, widening gap between the richest and poorest [3].

According to PRSP, 2005, agriculture must grow yearly by at least 4-4.5%. It is apparently possible through increasing agricultural productivity based on modern agricultural technology and a supply chain linking farmers with consumers in the domestic and global markets [1]. In a market economy framework, access to information is crucial in terms of having access to market and getting price advantage in the production process. Unfortunately, there is no separate market for the poor producers of goods and services. Accordingly, access to information may drastically change the situation in favor of the poor producers within and outside the country.

Country like Bangladesh where most of its population live in villages and depend on agriculture as their main occupation, accurate and timely information about market prices of agricultural produce has extreme significance. Agricultural Marketing in Bangladesh is undergoing a steady but significant change because of economic liberalisation and globalisation. Advancement in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has made the world a smaller but larger market. The availability of prompt and