[🇧🇩] Agriculture in Bangladesh

[Saif]

Wheat cultivation target set at 7,275 hectares in Dinajpur

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has set a target to cultivate wheat on 7,275 hectares of land in the district during the current season, aiming to boost production and meet the country’s growing demand...

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Wheat cultivation target set at 7,275 hectares in Dinajpur
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Dinajpur 23 December, 2025, 23:23

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) has set a target to cultivate wheat on 7,275 hectares of land in the district during the current season, aiming to boost production and meet the country’s growing demand.

Deputy director of DAE Md. Afzal Hossain said the cultivation target covers all 13 upazilas of the district, with a production goal of 3.75 metric tons per hectare. If the target is achieved, total wheat production in the district is expected to reach around 25,650 metric tons.

Md. Afzal Hossain said that the weather conditions this season are favorable for wheat cultivation. He expressed optimism that, barring any natural disasters, production may exceed the set target.

Farmers began cultivating early wheat varieties such as BARI-25, BARI-26 and BARI-27 from November 15, and the crops have already sprouted. Wheat varieties including BARI-27, 28, 30, 31 and 32 will continue to be sown until December 31.

Following the harvest of Aman paddy, farmers have been busy preparing land using organic manure and cow dung to increase yields. High-yielding wheat seeds, particularly BARI-30, 31 and 32, have been supplied by the Department of Agriculture, with the expected yield set at 3.75 tons per hectare.

To support cultivation, irrigation facilities using electric-powered machines have been ensured. Drainage systems have also been installed in advance to protect crops from potential damage caused by storms or heavy rainfall.

The deputy director added that the initiative is part of a broader effort to reduce dependence on wheat imports. The Wheat Research Institute is supplying improved high-yielding seed varieties, while agricultural field workers are providing continuous guidance to farmers across the district.

In recent years, wheat cultivation has expanded beyond highlands to include medium lands and river-side char areas. According to agriculture department sources, wheat was cultivated on 6,210 hectares in Dinajpur last year, producing 23,287 metric tons at an average yield of 3.75 tons per hectare.​

 

[Saif]

Potato cultivation exceeds target in Rangpur agricultural region

Potato farmers in the Rangpur agricultural region have already exceeded the potato cultivation target by one per cent as sowing continues this season with the expectation of an all-time record yield.

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Potato cultivation exceeds target in Rangpur agricultural region
Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha . Rangpur 27 December, 2025, 01:22

Potato farmers in the Rangpur agricultural region have already exceeded the potato cultivation target by one per cent as sowing continues this season with the expectation of an all-time record yield. | BSS Photo

Potato farmers in the Rangpur agricultural region have already exceeded the potato cultivation target by one per cent as sowing continues this season with the expectation of an all-time record yield.

Meanwhile, early varieties of potato have started to appear in local markets in Rangpur, Gaibandha, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat and Nilphamari districts of the region.

Officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension said that an all-time record target of producing 2,519,008 tonnes of potatoes from 1,01,700 hectares of land has been fixed for the region during the current Rabi season.

‘Farmers have already brought 105,600 hectares of land, higher by one per cent against the fixed farming target, under potato cultivation,’ additional director of the DAE’s Rangpur region, agriculturist Md Shirajul Islam, told BSS.

Sowing of potato seeds will continue till January next both in the mainland and char areas of all five districts in the region.

Meanwhile, farmers are continuing to harvest early varieties of potatoes cultivated after harvesting short-duration Aman rice on the same land since late October and early November last.

‘Farmers have already harvested early varieties of potatoes from 6,367 hectares of land and produced 89,318 tonnes of the tuber crop at an excellent average yield of 14.03 tonnes per hectare,’ he said.

Farmers are showing more interest in potato cultivation both in the mainland and char areas after receiving special incentives and assistance from the interim government and due to repeated bumper outputs every year.

The DAE, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute and related agri-organizations are providing quality potato seeds and assistance to farmers to make the potato farming programme a success.

‘Officials of the DAE and other related organizations are providing the latest technologies to farmers for proper nursing of potato fields to ensure better yields even in the face of the sweeping cold wave across the region this season,’ Shirajul added.

Deputy director of the DAE’s Burirhat Horticulture Centre in Rangpur, agriculturist Dr Md Abu Sayem, said that farmers were cultivating potatoes with greater enthusiasm after receiving government assistance.

‘Officials of the DAE and other agriculture-related organizations are providing the latest technologies to farmers for proper sowing of potato seeds, agronomic management and nursing of tender potato plants to achieve maximum yield,’ he said.

Farmers Nur Mohammad, Bulbul Hossain, Jahangir Alam and Anwar Hossain of different villages in Rangpur said that they were earning excellent profits from harvesting early varieties of potatoes cultivated after harvesting short-duration Aman rice.

‘After harvesting early varieties of potatoes, we are preparing for Boro rice cultivation on the same land,’ said farmer Isahaque Ali of village Kathihara in Rangpur Sadar.

Former president of Rangpur Chamber, Mustafa Sohrab Chowdhury Titu, emphasised the need to establish more agro-based industries for storage and export of potato products to ensure fair prices and encourage farmers to expand potato cultivation.​

 

[Saif]

Potato Paradox: Just another curry on the rice plate? This will not solve the price problem

Punishing retail prices during low output and throwaway rates during bumper harvests have become a familiar cycle for potato farmers. The swings are recurring and costly, leaving as many as half a crore growers exposed to debt in good years and public anger in bad ones.

www.thedailystar.net

Potato Paradox: Just another curry on the rice plate? This will not solve the price problem

Punishing retail prices during low output and throwaway rates during bumper harvests have become a familiar cycle for potato farmers. The swings are recurring and costly, leaving as many as half a crore growers exposed to debt in good years and public anger in bad ones.

Yet agri experts and supply chain players say the problem has little to do with farmers, or even with production. Instead, it reflects how potatoes are treated in policy and planning.

Unlike many other countries, Bangladesh largely views the crop as just another vegetable eaten with rice, not as a basic industrial raw material.

That distinction matters. When production overshoots domestic demand, prices collapse. Farmers absorb the losses, while the economy misses out on value addition that could stabilise incomes and absorb surplus output.

Bangladesh is the world's seventh-largest potato producer. Still, it remains far behind global peers in industrial use of the tuber.

In China, about 15 percent of potato output goes into industrial processing. In the Netherlands, Germany, France and the United States, the share ranges from 60 percent to 65 percent. Russia and Ukraine process 20 percent to 30 percent, while neighbouring India, with similar food habits, uses 5 percent to 7 percent.

Bangladesh, by contrast, processes only 3 percent to 4 percent of its total output, according to industry insiders.

The difference is decisive. In countries where potatoes feed factories, surplus strengthens supply chains. In Bangladesh, surplus simply crashes prices.

After rice, potatoes are the second most produced crop in Bangladesh and a pillar of food security. Yet more than a quarter of output is lost after harvest, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization, which points to weak storage, handling and processing capacity.

WRONG VARIETIES, WEAK PLANNING

Kamruzzaman Kamal, marketing director of Pran-RFL Group, the parent of the local agro processing giant Pran, said industrial processing is limited because most locally grown potatoes are table varieties, not processing-grade crops.

"These potatoes have high moisture and sugar content, which makes them unsuitable for products like French fries. They lose colour and become soft after frying," said Kamal.

Globally, potatoes used for fries, chips and flakes require dry matter of around 22.5 percent. But locally grown potatoes usually contain only 16 percent to 19 percent dry matter, according to scientists.

While potatoes are locally used at home to make chips, and in factories to produce crackers, biscuits and chanachur, the backward linkage industry for flakes and starch is still underdeveloped. Only one or two such factories are currently in production.

Kamal said farmers are not encouraged to grow processing varieties because crop planning is mostly individual-driven rather than coordinated. Many existing varieties are disease-prone, poorly adapted to climate stress and quick to spoil.

Inadequate storage, no grading and sorting at farm level, insufficient cold-chain infrastructure and limited warehousing have further constrained both industrial use and exports, added the Pran-RFL marketing director.

Khurshid Ahmad Farhad, general manager for international business and corporate affairs at Bombay Sweets and Company Limited, a popular food processing brand, said the absence of integrated crop planning and unpredictable weather has kept industrial processing from reaching scale.

Factories producing flakes, slices, chips and biscuits need potatoes of specific size and quality. Bangladesh does not produce enough of these at consistent volumes, he said. Even when quality potatoes are available, production costs are often far higher than international benchmarks, making local products uncompetitive.

"In recent times, costs have risen so sharply that a Dubai-based trader told me they could supply potato flakes at a lower price than we can," Farhad said.

Globally, the largest potato-based industrial products include mashed potatoes and French fries. In Bangladesh, suitable varieties have yet to be developed at a commercial scale, leaving much of the segment untapped.

Although government agencies hold relevant crop data, it is neither centrally coordinated nor used for forecasting, Farhad said. As a result, annual output swings widely between about 80 lakh tonnes and nearly 90 lakh tonnes, with no early warning for the industry.

"This uncertainty is the biggest obstacle. Planning depends on assured availability and consistent quality of raw materials," he said.

THE GLUT, THEN THE CRASH

Strong prices in the 2024 season encouraged farmers to expand potato acreage massively this year in the hope of better returns. Instead, excessive output triggered a severe glut and eventual price fall.

According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, potato production reached a record 1.15 crore tonnes last season, far above annual domestic demand of around 90 lakh tonnes.

Cultivated area rose 8 percent year-on-year to 4.92 lakh hectares in fiscal year 2024-25, while output increased 9 percent from 1.06 crore tonnes the previous year.

The oversupply sent field-level prices tumbling to Tk 9 to Tk 11 per kg, well below the estimated average production cost of Tk 14. In northern regions, costs were higher, at around Tk 20 per kg, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

For farmers, the result was debt rather than profit. For the economy, it was another missed chance to channel surplus into value-added uses.

'TYPICAL COLD STORAGE ONLY DELAYS LOSSES'

Bangladesh has expanded cold storage capacity to about 35-40 lakh tonnes. Processing capacity, however, is remarkably low.

Md Mohsin Ali, head of supply chain at Quasem Industries Limited, which produces Sun Chips, said processing capacity stands at just 70,000-80,000 tonnes.

The shortage of modern cold storage designed for processing-grade potatoes is one of the sector's biggest constraints, he said. "Therefore, typical cold storage facilities currently delay losses. It does not create value," he said. "Without factories that can absorb surplus, price crashes will continue."

In many countries, he said, potatoes are a staple food and a major industrial input. In Bangladesh, those consumption patterns and industrial linkages have yet to emerge.

According to Ali, weak policy support, lack of dedicated processing policies and limited investment in research and development are major barriers.

DEMAND EXISTS, QUALITY DOES NOT

Apart from the unavailability of commercial-grade potatoes, the shortage of premium-grade crops is visible even in high-end kitchens.

Md Ershad Ali, assistant sous chef at Pan Pacific Sonargaon Dhaka, a five-star hotel, said they serve potatoes to their guests at every meal, with each buffet offering at least one potato dish.

Some international recipes, however, cannot be prepared with local potatoes due to inconsistent size and grading. Overseas, potatoes arrive uniformly graded and ready for consistent cuts and presentation. Local supplies vary widely.

The hotel uses about 500 kg of potatoes each week. That could rise to 800 kg if uniformly graded, high-quality potatoes were available, he said.

A POLICY BLIND SPOT

FH Ansary, managing director of ACI Agribusiness, said potatoes need to be viewed through four lenses: food, industry, environment and health.

"We treat potatoes as just a vegetable. Elsewhere, they are protein sources, pharmaceutical inputs, packaging material and industrial feedstock," he said.

Ansary said farmers focus on table potatoes because the market is guaranteed. Seeds of processing varieties are scarce, quality-based cultivation is limited, and there is no price assurance or buy-back mechanism.

"The bridge between farmers and industry is broken," he said. "Without it, neither industrial use nor price stability will be achieved."

M Masrur Reaz, chairman of local think tank Policy Exchange Bangladesh, said processed potatoes generate far higher value than fresh ones. Globally, fresh potatoes account for about half of export volume but only 20 percent of value. Processed potatoes make up a third of the volume yet generate more than half of the trade value.

In Bangladesh, processing is limited to 3 percent to 4 percent of output, while exports stand at just 62,000 tonnes, said the economist. "Without value addition, price crashes during bumper harvests will keep hurting farmers."

Agriculture contributes about 12 percent to the gross domestic product of Bangladesh. The processed food sector accounts for only 1.7 percent.

Mohammad Khurshid Alam, chief scientific officer at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (Bari), said the short winter season limits dry matter accumulation in potatoes. Excessive use of urea further delays maturity and raises moisture content. He said contract farming and area-based zoning are important, with specific regions designated for processing and export varieties.

Other solutions, the scientist said, include developing high dry-matter varieties through public-private partnerships, expanding good agricultural practice certification, improving post-harvest management and rebuilding links between farmers and industry.​

 

[Saif]

Issues for govt to fix to deal with surplus agricultural output

A RECORD record potato harvest this season for farmers in the north has become a stark illustration of how abundance can paradoxically breed disaster. What should have been a period of relative prosperity has instead turned into a likely financial crisis as prices have plummeted to levels far...

www.newagebd.net

Issues for govt to fix to deal with surplus agricultural output

A RECORD record potato harvest this season for farmers in the north has become a stark illustration of how abundance can paradoxically breed disaster. What should have been a period of relative prosperity has instead turned into a likely financial crisis as prices have plummeted to levels far below production costs. Early potatoes, expected to bring a premium before the main harvest, are now sold for Tk 10–12 a kilogram, barely a half of what it cost to produce them. The situation is compounded by the lingering stock of the past season’s crop in cold storage, creating an unprecedented ‘double blow’ for growers who hoped for stable returns. Government efforts to safeguard the sector, including a minimum price announcement and plans for procurement, have largely remained unimplemented, leaving farmers to navigate the collapse unaided. Rising input costs, from fertiliser and fuel to labour, have exacerbated the imbalance between cost and revenue while weak market forecasting and ineffective regulation have allowed surplus supply to overwhelm demand. Beyond the immediate losses, the crisis exposes structural vulnerabilities in agricultural markets.

The crisis at hand underscores the urgent need for a cold storage system that is both accessible and efficiently managed. While the government has established 384 commercial cold storage units with a combined capacity of around 3.27 million tonnes and more than 650 low-cost attic-style facilities in village, the measures fall far short of the nation’s annual potato output of 11.5 million tonnes. Even where space exists, high storage rents, sometimes exceeding the market value of the potatoes, leave many farmers reluctant to store their crops while poorly maintained units risk spoilage. Expanding storage capacity, reducing costs and ensuring proper upkeep are essential first steps, but they should also be paired with investment in agricultural processing industry and value addition. Limited processing facilities, weak export channels and the absence of a coordinated cold-chain logistics network prevent surplus potatoes from reaching alternative markets. Without reforms to market regulation, price stabilisation mechanisms and a strategic push into processing and export infrastructure, any expansion in storage will merely postpone the inevitable price collapse. A comprehensive approach is needed, one that combines storage improvements, market management and processing initiatives to protect farmers and stabilise the sector against both seasonal and structural vulnerabilities.

The authorities should act decisively to prevent repeated losses. Expanding and properly managing cold storage, investing in processing and export infrastructure and enforcing market regulation are essential. Without these measures, farmers will continue to bear the brunt of surplus and price collapse, rural livelihood will be jeopardised and seasonal gluts will remain a persistent threat to both food security and agricultural stability.​