This paper analyses the long term (1949-84) growth of Bangladesh agriculture and factors contributing to it. It shows that the secular decline in per capita agricultural production is mainly due to stagnation during the late fifties and the early seventies, caused by natural factors and disruptions owing to the war of liberation. Production grew much faster than population during the sixties and the post-1975/76 period. In the sixties the growth originated mainly from an increase in multiple cropping and improvement in cultural practices. The seed-fertilizer-water technology which was introduced in the sixties contributed only one-fourth to the growth during the decade. The traditional source of growth seem to have dried up as the new technology accounts for about two thirds of the recent (post-1975) growth. The marginal increase in croppings intensity during the recent period was also associated with the expansion of irrigation. The paper argues that there is little scope for promoting future growth by providing price incentives; the future price scenario in fact may put a negative pressure on agricultural growth. It therefore recommends that the public policy should be directed to accelerating the diffusion of new agricultural technology.