Farmers hit by cost, climate shocks
Bangladesh’s farmers are facing mounting pressure from rising food and fuel prices, falling incomes and increasingly difficult production conditions, with around 10 lakh agricultural households, representing nearly 50 lakh people, expected to require emergency agricultural assistance between June and November this year, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The estimate is 2 lakh households higher than the FAO’s assessment in September last year, with small-scale producers bearing the greatest burden.
The findings come from the FAO’s 14th round of Data in Emergencies Monitoring (DIEM-Monitoring), based on computer-assisted telephone interviews with 6,143 households conducted in April and May this year.
The highest proportions of households requiring assistance were recorded in Sylhet, Mymensingh and Rangpur divisions.
The FAO identified households as being in need when they were simultaneously affected by a relevant shock – including economic, agricultural, natural or household-specific shocks – faced acute food insecurity and expressed a need for agricultural support.
Economic pressures were the most widespread concern, with 84 per cent of at-risk households reporting the impact of rising food and fuel prices.
Natural hazards affected 16 per cent of households, up 6 percentage points from the previous round. Around two-thirds of households said they had bought food on credit, while 66 per cent reported cutting healthcare expenditure.
Nearly one-third had reduced spending on farm inputs such as seed and fertiliser, potentially affecting the production of the current crop season.
The demand for direct financial assistance also rose sharply. The proportion of households seeking cash support increased by 41 percentage points, from 16 per cent in the 13th round to 57 per cent in the latest assessment.
The FAO said the needs were particularly pronounced in riverine areas, haors and flash-flood hotspots, highlighting the growing exposure of agricultural households to flooding and waterlogging as the monsoon intensified.
It linked the rising need for assistance to the combined effects of monsoon flooding, food inflation and declining household incomes.
Crop production difficulties remained broadly unchanged, affecting close to half of surveyed crop producers in both assessment rounds.
Among those reporting production problems, excess water in fields, plant diseases and limited access to fertiliser were the main difficulties.
Farmers were also facing increasing difficulties in selling their produce.
The proportion of crop producers reporting sales problems more than tripled, rising from 9 per cent to 30 per cent, mainly because of low prices.
The situation for livestock producers showed some improvement compared with the previous round, although disease and feed costs remained significant concerns.
Among producers facing difficulties, 91 per cent cited disease and 17 per cent reported high feed costs.
The FAO recommended a seasonally targeted package of agricultural inputs, combined with cash assistance, animal-health services and water-management support ahead of the Aman cultivation season.
The assessment underscores the need to protect farmers’ productive capacity as rising living costs, weak farm incomes and climate-related shocks place additional pressure on agricultural households.
For small-scale producers in particular, timely access to seed, fertiliser, cash support and other essential services will be crucial to maintaining production and protecting livelihoods through the current monsoon and the upcoming Aman season.
