Dhaka: Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Sunday emphasized the necessity of reducing Bangladesh's reliance on imported agricultural and food products by bolstering domestic crop production. In a meeting held at the Bangladesh Secretariat, he urged the Ministry of Agriculture officials to implement effective measures that would enhance the production of locally viable agricultural commodities, thereby ensuring food security and making farming more profitable.
According to United News of Bangladesh, the Prime Minister highlighted the importance of not only boosting agricultural productivity but also reducing farmers' production costs and ensuring fair prices for their produce. He stated, "We must gradually reduce our dependence on imports of agricultural and food products that can be produced domestically. To this end, we need to put greater emphasis on increasing domestic production by quickly taking research findings, improved varieties, modern technologies, irrigation facilities, and mechanisation to farmers."
During the meeting, the Prime Minister chose to walk from his office to the agriculture ministry and opted for the stairs instead of the lift to reach the ministry's conference room. Officials presented the current state of the agriculture sector, ongoing activities, and future plans. The ministry reported a significant increase in mustard production, a strategic move to lessen reliance on imported edible oil, with production rising from 8.24 lakh tonnes in 2021-22 to 15.34 lakh tonnes in 2024-25 and 15.41 lakh tonnes in 2025-26.
The discussion also covered initiatives to boost onion production and storage capacity, including the introduction of air-flow technology for onion storage at the farmers' level and the expansion of summer onion varieties. Moreover, the ministry is working towards expanding climate-resilient crop varieties that can tolerate salinity, drought, and waterlogging.
Officials highlighted progress in agricultural research, revealing that a total of 1,090 crop varieties, including 155 rice varieties, have been developed. More than 1,000 agricultural technologies have also been introduced. The meeting underscored the need for greater emphasis on agricultural mechanisation to reduce labor and production costs while enhancing productivity.
The government aims to increase domestic production of agricultural machinery, making equipment like combine harvesters, reapers, and rice transplanters affordable for farmers. Additionally, the expansion of solar-powered irrigation was discussed, with 2,617 solar irrigation systems currently in place. Expanding renewable energy-based irrigation could further reduce farmers' irrigation costs and dependence on conventional fuels.
The meeting reviewed the Farmers' Card programme, which aims to ensure direct delivery of government support to farmers. The agriculture ministry plans to bring 43 lakh farmers under the card programme by the 2026-27 fiscal year, with preparations underway to distribute cards to around 1.10 lakh farmers in the first phase.
Other topics discussed included canal excavation, tree plantation, and the storage and marketing of farm produce.