A newspaper on Sunday reported that Bangladesh’s agricultural sector, employing over 40 per cent of the nation’s workforce, is increasingly vulnerable to the devastating effects of climate change.
Yet, despite bearing the brunt of disasters like cyclones, floods, and droughts, our farmers remain without the safety net of widespread crop insurance, said the report.
Recent data is sobering: from 2019 to 2024, agricultural losses due to major weather events totalled an estimated $ 700 million.
Over the longer term, the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics has calculated that annual agricultural damages averaged $720 million between 2015 and 2020, equating to 1 per cent of the country’s GDP.
These figures paint a dire picture of the financial strain climate change imposes on farmers, who often have no recourse but to turn to loans and other risky financial solutions to recover.
The report shared the painful experiences of two farmers from Rajshahi of losing crops and being forced into debt.
Their stories reflect the growing frustration among farmers who see no support for their livelihoods after disasters strike.
However, a promising pilot crop insurance project, funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) from 2014 to 2018, provided coverage for 10,000 farmers.
But the initiative was short-lived, and since its conclusion, no comprehensive effort has been made to revive crop insurance.
The fundamental obstacle lies in a lack of government subsidies to make insurance affordable.
Insurers cannot provide meaningful coverage across the agriculture sector without substantial support, as demonstrated by successful programs in neighbouring India, where up to 80 per cent of insurance premiums are subsidized.
Bangladesh cannot afford to ignore the urgency of this issue. As climate disasters increase in frequency and severity, the economic and social consequences of neglecting our farmers will only worsen.
The government must step up and take decisive action to establish a national crop insurance system, ensuring that millions of vulnerable farmers are protected.
Without such a commitment, the future of Bangladesh’s agriculture — and the livelihoods of those who depend on it —will remain at the mercy of increasingly unpredictable and catastrophic weather patterns.
We must say now is the time for decisive leadership. Crop insurance is not just a financial tool; it is a critical element in safeguarding the nation’s food security and agricultural sustainability.