In addition to its valuable properties as organic fertilizer, cow dung is sun-dried and used as fuel on the Indian subcontinent. - - Problems of The Small Farmer. Land reform has had the effect of making Bangladesh a country of small farmers - due largely to population pressure (estimated at 81 million in 1975) and the law of inheritance, which decrees that all sons will have an equal share of the land. Thus the small holdings continue to decrease in size, with family farms averaging less than 2 acres of over-utilized, under-nourished land. The farming pattern is subject to erratic rainfall or widespread floods. Rice yields have been among the lowest in the world, mainly because traditional farming practices still predominate. The low price of jute - an important cash crop - has not been able to reverse the shift from jute to synthetics. The Government has therefore requested help through several UN agencies including UNDP, FAO and the World Food Programme.