E-government: a possible solution to the problems of the agricultural input market in Bangladesh?

Although e-government offers unique opportunities for streamlining good governance, there remains considerable skepticism about its applicability in developing countries due to their lack of required level of infrastructural, technological, legal and human development. This paper argues that developing countries can introduce e-government practices by re-engineering their existing infrastructure rather than waiting for massive investments and perfect technological advancements. Using Bangladesh- a developing country- as an exemplar, this paper assesses the applicability and prospects of e-government practices in dealing with the problems in the agricultural input sector which is predominantly associated with poor, marginalised and semi-illiterate farmers. The utilization of the Bangladesh case study has important implications for examining and highlighting the probable introduction of e-government practices in developing countries.