By Kallol Mostafa
Agriculture is the backbone of Bangladesh’s food security, yet structural problems continue to plague the sector. While various reforms and commissions operate in different sectors, agricultural reform remains largely ignored. Farmers across the country are struggling with the unavailability and high cost of fertilizers, irrigation issues, and increasing storage costs. These challenges pose a severe risk to both farmers’ livelihoods and national food security.
Fertilizer Crisis: A Growing Concern
As the Boro cultivation season begins, farmers are already facing difficulties in securing fertilizers at the government-fixed prices. Reports indicate that the prices of essential fertilizers such as urea, TSP, DAP, and MOP have surged beyond the official rates. According to a report by Samakal on February 2, 2025, the government-set price for urea and TSP is BDT 27 per kilogram, DAP is BDT 21 per kilogram, and MOP is BDT 20 per kilogram. However, farmers are being forced to buy urea at BDT 29–33 per kilogram, TSP at BDT 30–35 per kilogram, DAP at BDT 25–35 per kilogram, and MOP at BDT 25–30 per kilogram.
With rising costs of seeds, pesticides, and diesel, the increased price of fertilizers has only worsened the farmers’ financial burden. The previous government raised urea prices by BDT 6 per kilogram in August 2022 and increased all fertilizer prices by BDT 5 per kilogram in 2023. The current interim government has not only failed to reduce these prices but has also been unable to ensure that fertilizers are available at the officially designated rates.
Boro rice contributes significantly to the country’s rice supply. Any disruption in fertilizer availability during this crucial season could impact overall food production, exacerbating inflation and food shortages. This issue is not limited to the Boro season alone. Farmers cultivating Rabi crops like potatoes, vegetables, pulses, and oilseeds in the northern districts have also reported fertilizer shortages and inflated prices. According to BDNews24.com (December 18, 2024), in several districts, farmers had to pay BDT 450–500 more per sack of fertilizer than the fixed price.
Rather than denying the existence of the crisis, the government should take immediate steps to address the fertilizer shortage. Despite claims of self-sufficiency in food production, Bangladesh still imports over 10 million tons of food grains annually. Increasing domestic food production should be a priority, and the government must ensure that fertilizers are available at fair prices. One viable solution could be boosting local fertilizer production by increasing gas supply to domestic chemical fertilizer factories. Additionally, promoting organic fertilizers could reduce dependency on chemical fertilizers and enhance soil health.
Irrigation Woes: A Persistent Challenge
Apart from fertilizers, irrigation remains a major challenge for farmers. Water shortages caused by upstream river withdrawals by India and the encroachment of rivers and water bodies within Bangladesh have severely limited irrigation access. Many irrigation projects within the country are also not functioning efficiently due to poor maintenance and mismanagement.
For instance, the Ganges-Kobadak (G-K) irrigation project in Kushtia, a critical source of water for farmers in Kushtia, Chuadanga, Jhenaidah, and Magura, has been in disrepair. According to Samakal (February 2, 2025), all three pumps of the project were dysfunctional last year, depriving hundreds of thousands of farmers of irrigation water. Although one pump has been repaired this year, two remain non-functional, and water availability from the Padma River remains uncertain.
Adding to the farmers’ woes, the Barind Multipurpose Development Authority (BMDA) has introduced restrictions on deep tube wells. The new policy limits irrigation hours to 980 hours for the Boro season in water-scarce areas of Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, and Naogaon, with a total cap of 1,960 hours annually. Farmers fear that such restrictions, imposed without consulting them, could worsen irrigation access and encourage corruption and irregularities in water distribution.
In the Barind region, where water scarcity is already a pressing issue, delayed or inadequate irrigation has led to tragic consequences, with reports of farmers committing suicide due to failed crops. Instead of imposing unilateral restrictions, the government should engage with farmers and implement sustainable solutions to improve irrigation efficiency. Investments in water conservation, rainwater harvesting, and improved irrigation infrastructure could mitigate the crisis.
Skyrocketing Cold Storage Costs: A New Blow to Farmers
While farmers struggle with fertilizer and irrigation issues, they now face another challenge—soaring cold storage costs. Recently, potato farmers in Rajshahi protested by dumping potatoes on the highway in response to the sudden hike in storage fees. The Bangladesh Cold Storage Association has set the storage fee at BDT 8 per kilogram for the current season, doubling last year’s cost.
Farmers previously paid BDT 280 to store a 70-kilogram sack of potatoes in cold storage. This year, the cost has surged to BDT 560, making it financially unsustainable for many. (The Business Standard Online, February 2, 2025).
During the harvest season, potato prices remain low because they are in farmers’ hands. However, once traders and middlemen take control, prices tend to rise. The increased cold storage costs will force farmers to sell their produce at lower prices instead of storing it, giving large traders greater control over the market and further destabilizing potato prices in the future.
To prevent this exploitation, the government should regulate cold storage charges to ensure fair pricing. Additionally, the government could directly purchase potatoes from farmers and store them to stabilize the market. Such measures would protect farmers from unfair pricing while ensuring price stability for consumers.
Why Are Farmers’ Issues Overlooked?
The persistent neglect of farmers’ problems stems from their lack of representation in national politics and policymaking. Despite agriculture’s crucial role in ensuring food security and employment, the voices of farmers remain marginalized in economic and political decision-making.
While various commissions and reforms are proposed for other sectors, agricultural reform is rarely discussed. The agricultural supply chain is dominated by powerful business groups and corporate entities, forcing farmers to purchase inputs at high prices and sell their produce at low rates. Meanwhile, the lack of farmer-friendly storage facilities and agro-based industries means that farmers earn the least while middlemen profit the most.
Even the subsidies and incentives provided to the agriculture sector often fail to reach genuine farmers, benefiting intermediaries instead. Successive governments, including the current one, have not taken meaningful steps to address these systemic issues.
Despite frequent discussions about entrepreneurship and private sector growth, policymakers continue to overlook the country’s largest group of entrepreneurs—farmers. While efforts are made to create a favorable business environment for foreign and domestic investors, little attention is paid to improving the conditions for agricultural investment, which is essential for national food security.
Until agriculture and farmers receive due attention in national policymaking, issues such as fertilizer shortages, irrigation challenges, and unfair crop pricing will continue to threaten Bangladesh’s food security and rural livelihoods. The time has come for the government to prioritize agriculture as a national agenda and take urgent steps to protect the rights and interests of farmers.
Disclaimer: This article, originally written by Kallol Mostafa and published in Prothom Alo on February 8, 2025, has been translated into English. Read the original Bangla version here with proper attribution.
