Experts fear that if similar cuts occur across other major agricultural belts, national supply gaps will widen, forcing heavier reliance on imports.
Fertiliser may technically be included in official stock figures while remaining inaccessible to farmers. Photo: TBS
“>
Fertiliser may technically be included in official stock figures while remaining inaccessible to farmers. Photo: TBS
Rising production costs are forcing farmers across Bangladesh to cut back on cultivation for the Robi season, raising fresh concerns over long-term food security and import dependence.
From the sprawling vegetable fields of Shibganj in Chapainawabganj to the farming heartland of Faridpur, growers say escalating prices for fertiliser, irrigation, fuel, and labour are making agriculture increasingly unprofitable.
Sharecroppers, who shoulder 100% of production costs while handing over a fixed share of their harvest to landowners, are bearing the brunt of the squeeze. Many are abandoning leased land altogether.
“Last season I spent up to Tk15,000 per bigha on cauliflower. This time it could reach Tk20,000,” said Shakil, a grower in Shibganj.
Land preparation costs have surged by more than 50%, while daily labour wages have jumped from Tk500 to Tk700. With household living expenses also mounting, farmers say it has become near-impossible to sustain a family through cultivation.
Aziz, a sharecropper in the same area, used to farm two bighas of his own land alongside four and a half bighas of leased plots. Faced with inflated input costs, he has dropped the leased land entirely.
It is not just sharecroppers feeling the pinch; farmers working their own land face a mounting financial squeeze.
Infographic: TBS
“>
Infographic: TBS
In Manikganj, Nasir plans to grow maize on one and a half acres as usual, but expects costs to climb by at least 20%. With official dealers allocating just five of the 20 sacks of fertiliser he needs, he is forced onto the open market – paying Tk1,600 to Tk1,700 per sack of urea and TSP compared to the subsidised dealer rate of Tk1,350. Meanwhile, daily farm wages are projected to surge to Tk800-900.
Farmers in the north report a parallel struggle. Anil Chandra Roy farms five and a half bighas of paddy and other crops in Kurigram’s Phulbari. Inflated input costs have outpaced market returns, leaving him worried he will fall short on labour expenses even after selling his harvest.
Yet, walking away is not an option. “There’s no profit in not farming either,” Roy said. “If the land lies fallow, what will we eat?”
A threat to staple crops and national supply
Agricultural economists warn that these individual choices can quickly snowball into a nationwide supply crisis.
Dr Shayla Khandakar of Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University noted that land use consumes 25% to 30% of total production costs. When input prices soar, smallholders and sharecroppers lose the capacity to invest in high-value, capital-intensive crops.
The uncertainty extends to key staples. In Faridpur, a major onion-producing hub, grower Boktar Khan has slashed his cultivation area from 100 acres last year to just 40 this season. Irrigation, labour, and fertiliser expenses have all climbed, while fair market prices for the harvest remain far from guaranteed.
Experts fear that if similar cuts occur across other major agricultural belts, national supply gaps will widen, forcing heavier reliance on imports.
Prof Golam Rasul who teaches economics at IUBAT warned that some triple-crop lands are now yielding only two crops, while double-crop lands are reduced to one, a troubling trend for a country with severely limited arable land.
“To cope with higher costs, farmers may use less fertiliser, choose cheaper crops or shrink their cultivated area, all of which risk lower yields,” Prof Rasul said. Over the long term, this threatens greater food inflation and heightened vulnerability to global commodity shocks and climate risks.
Official optimism vs ground realities
Despite mounting pressure reported by farmers in the field, government agricultural departments maintain an upbeat outlook.
Local agricultural officials in Chapainawabganj and Faridpur point to rising overall cropping intensity, ongoing incentive distributions, such as seeds and fertiliser for mustard, lentil, and pulses, and active extension support to keep land productive rather than left fallow.
Md Atiqul Islam, Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) deputy director in Chapainawabganj, offered a more upbeat picture of Chapainwabganj district. He said cropping intensity there is rising. More than 10,000 hectares will be planted with winter vegetables this season, and 40,000 farmers for mustard, 500 for lentil and 500 for grass peas will receive seed and fertiliser for one bigha each as incentives.
Md Shahaduzzaman, DAE deputy director in Faridpur, said he is not aware of any farmer leaving land idle because of high input costs. He added that the department regularly advises farmers on low-cost cultivation methods. He admitted that some growers may plant fewer onions, but said the land would be put to other uses rather than left fallow. The district has set an onion target of 50,000-52,000 hectares this year.
At the national level, the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has rejected claims of a widespread fertiliser crisis. Md Aminul Islam, deputy director of the DAE’s fertiliser management division, insisted that adequate allocations have been dispatched across all 64 districts, with surplus volumes in over half of them.
About The Author
