Agricultural aid must be better targeted

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), around 10 lakh agricultural households, representing nearly 50 lakh people, are projected to need emergency agricultural assistance between June and November this year. The number has risen by 2 lakh since November 2025. The need is particularly acute in river-system areas, haor basins, and flash-flood hotspots. By the share of farming households affected, Sylhet, Mymensingh, and Rangpur ranked highest; while Chattogram had the largest number of households in need, followed by Rangpur, Dhaka, and Rajshahi. The findings, based on interviews with 6,143 households across all districts, should prompt the government to urgently reassess how agricultural assistance is targeted and delivered.

Reportedly, some 57 percent of households requiring assistance cultivate less than one hectare of land, while 60 percent belong to the least well-off wealth bracket. Many depend on casual farm and off-farm labour or low-capital self-employment, which leaves them with little capacity to absorb economic or climate-related shocks. Two-thirds of affected households reported buying food on credit, 66 percent had reduced health spending and 30 percent had cut spending on agricultural inputs. Farmers are also struggling to maintain production, with reports of plant disease rising and difficulties in accessing fertiliser since the last FAO assessment.

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Also, as warned by the World Bank, fertiliser prices could rise by 30 percent this year. More than 85 percent of Bangladesh’s fertiliser needs are currently met through imports, while three of the country’s seven fertiliser factories are shut due to gas shortages. Therefore, any delay in fertiliser supplies could reduce rice yields and push up food prices. A 10-percent rise in rice prices could push a staggering 14 lakh more people into poverty, according to the World Bank.

The government’s efforts to assist affected farmers, including providing seeds, seedlings, and relief materials, are welcome. The introduction of the early-maturing BRRI dhan 118 variety for haor farmers is also a useful adaptation measure. But more needs to be done. As the FAO recommends, support should be timed to the Aman cultivation season and include agricultural inputs, cash assistance, livestock feed, veterinary services, and water-management support. The government should also identify vulnerable smallholders, including those without secure land ownership or financial buffers, and ensure they are not excluded from existing subsidies and social protection schemes. It should also address farmers’ difficulties in accessing fertiliser and other inputs, improve agricultural extension and plant-health services, and ensure fairer prices and better market access.