Hope and Concern Surrounding Bangladesh’s Agriculture

Before assuming office, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman had expressed deep concern over the plight of potato farmers.

His remarks reflected genuine empathy for Bangladesh’s farming community. His father, the late President ZiaurRahman, often said, “If the farmers survive, the nation survives.”

It was, therefore, widely expected that after returning to power the BNP government would present a truly farmer-friendly national budget.

Although the latest budget has increased the nominal allocation for agriculture, several agricultural economists argue that, after adjusting for inflation, the sector has effectively received a smaller allocation.

At the same time, repeated floods, excessive rainfall, rising electricity and fuel prices, soaring costs of fertilizers, seeds and pesticides, and increasing agricultural wages have sharply raised the cost of production.

As a result, agriculture has become a far less profitable investment than before.

Unless the country adopts a coordinated strategy to confront the growing challenges of climate change, even ensuring the traditional staple of rice and lentils may become increasingly difficult in the years ahead.

Since its emergence as an independent nation, Bangladesh has achieved remarkable success in one vital area—food production.

During the 1970s, when Bangladesh was still emerging from the devastation of war and famine, annual food grain production remained below 10 million metric tonnes. By 2025, however, national food grain production had exceeded 45 million metric tonnes.

Population growth during the same period has been equally dramatic. In 1970, the country’s population stood at around 65 million.

By 2025, it had risen to approximately 175.7 million. Despite this enormous demographic pressure, Bangladesh has largely succeeded in meeting the food requirements of its people through sustained improvements in agricultural productivity.

The transformation mirrors broader global developments. Since 1970, the world’s population has expanded from approximately 3.7 billion to more than 8.2 billion.

Yet global food production has increased at an even faster pace, largely because of technological advances in agriculture, improved irrigation, high-yielding crop varieties and the widespread use of chemical fertilizers.

The Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s fundamentally changed the global agricultural landscape.

Modern seed varieties, fertilizer application and scientific irrigation methods dramatically increased crop yields. Over the past six decades, global agricultural production has nearly quadrupled.

Because food production has grown faster than population, per capita food availability has increased by more than 50 percent, contributing significantly to the reduction of extreme hunger and poverty across the world.

Bangladesh has shared in this remarkable achievement. Although its population has nearly tripled since independence, the country’s farmers and agricultural labourers have worked tirelessly to feed the growing nation. Their contribution deserves far greater recognition than it often receives.

Unlike farmers in Europe, North America, China, Japan or South Korea, most Bangladeshi farmers have not enjoyed widespread access to advanced agricultural technologies.

Many still rely on traditional farming methods and relatively outdated equipment. Nevertheless, the country’s agricultural scientists have developed improved rice varieties that have multiplied food grain production.

Researchers have also introduced higher-yielding fruit varieties, contributed to the conservation of indigenous fish species, and helped increase overall fish production.

Considerable opportunities still remain for expanding scientific aquaculture, but the progress achieved so far is highly commendable.

Everyone involved in this remarkable transformation—from farmers and farm labourers to researchers and extension workers—deserves appreciation.

Yet Bangladesh’s agricultural journey is far from complete. Much remains to be done if the sector is to remain resilient, competitive and capable of ensuring long-term food security.

Protecting Farmers and Building a Modern Agricultural Economy
Bangladesh is naturally endowed with fertile land, and seasonal floods have historically replenished soil fertility.

With proper care and modest investment, the country’s land is capable of producing abundant harvests. Yet nature can also be unforgiving.

Floods, cyclones and excessive rainfall frequently destroy standing crops before they can be harvested.

The recent Boro rice season is a clear example. Thousands of farmers suffered heavy losses as floods damaged their crops.

Because Bangladesh still lacks an effective agricultural insurance system, many of these farmers have been pushed into financial hardship. Fish farmers face a similar predicament.

When floodwaters wash away fish from ponds and enclosures, years of investment disappear overnight.

Farmers also suffer from unstable markets. Quite often they fail to receive fair prices for the crops they produce.

The state must therefore establish stronger institutional mechanisms to protect farmers from both natural disasters and market failures.

One effective way to strengthen rural incomes is to promote agro-based light industries. Value addition can transform agricultural products into higher-value commodities while creating employment and reducing post-harvest losses.

Successful international examples illustrate this potential. Vietnam utilizes discarded pineapple waste as raw material for manufacturing soap and other industrial products. Ghana processes mangoes, jackfruit and bananas into chips for export to European markets.

China markets dried radish as a commercial product. Mango powder and coconut milk have become profitable export commodities in many countries.

Bangladesh, meanwhile, continues to lose enormous quantities of mangoes, jackfruits, pineapples and other fruits because of inadequate processing and storage facilities.

These products could generate substantial additional income if they were processed into juice, dried fruit, powder, jam or other value-added products. Unfortunately, appropriate government incentives and industrial support remain insufficient.

Past governments often sought to impress the public through large-scale infrastructure projects.

While impressive megaprojects attract headlines, sustainable national development ultimately depends on investments that strengthen productive sectors such as agriculture.

The commercial capital, Chattogram, still struggles with severe waterlogging during heavy rainfall.

Such realities remind us that genuine development should improve people’s lives rather than simply showcase engineering achievements.

Politicians frequently describe farmers as the backbone of the national economy.

Yet, in practice, government attention often favours louder and more influential interest groups, while farmers’ long-standing demands remain inadequately addressed.

If Bangladesh is serious about transforming its agricultural sector, comprehensive land reform should become a national priority.

Agricultural land should be scientifically mapped according to soil characteristics and crop suitability.

The productive capacity of farmland must be regularly assessed, and fragmented plots should be consolidated wherever practical to improve efficiency.

Each farming block should maintain a scientific record indicating which crops are best suited to its soil and precisely how much fertilizer should be applied.

Such information should be preserved by local agricultural offices and made readily available to farmers.

Equally important is encouraging farmers to work cooperatively. Large-scale mechanization, efficient irrigation and modern marketing systems become far more effective when farmers collaborate rather than operate in isolation.

Bangladesh should also invest far more heavily in agricultural education and extension. Modern farming techniques successfully adopted in developed countries can be demonstrated in villages through audiovisual presentations, field demonstrations and farmer training programmes.

At the same time, literacy and technical education must be expanded to enable rural communities to adopt modern technologies more effectively.

Encouragingly, Bangladesh is now developing a growing range of agriculture-friendly technologies.

Engineering universities should be encouraged to devote greater attention to solving practical agricultural problems instead of focusing exclusively on producing graduates for overseas employment.

Government policies should discourage excessive brain drain and instead create opportunities for talented engineers to contribute to national development.

Our engineers should recognize that serving the country’s farmers is among the noblest forms of national service.

Those who develop innovative agricultural technologies should receive financial incentives, public recognition and attractive career opportunities in both public institutions and private industry.

Bangladesh has the talent, the resources and the entrepreneurial spirit to transform its agriculture into a modern, technology-driven and commercially competitive sector. What is needed now is sustained political commitment and long-term strategic planning.

(The writer: Advisory Editor of The New Nation)