Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said the government has adopted a timely seven-point plan to boost agricultural development and productivity.
He made the remarks while responding to a question from Tangail-6 MP Rabiul Alam during the prime minister’s question session in parliament on Wednesday afternoon.
The prime minister said Bangladesh is an agriculture-dependent country, and the sector plays a crucial role in ensuring food security, reducing poverty and driving economic growth. However, challenges such as climate change, population growth, shrinking arable land and technological limitations are putting pressure on the sector.
To address these challenges and transform agriculture into a sustainable and profitable sector, the government has introduced the plan, he said.
As part of the initiative, a “farmer card” system has been launched to provide multiple services to farmers.
Through the card, farmers will receive 10 types of services, including fair-priced agricultural inputs, subsidies and incentives, access to machinery, irrigation support, agricultural loans, crop insurance, market information, training and digital advisory services. The government plans to distribute the cards to around 27.5 million farmers across the country in phases.
The seven-point plan includes expanding modern irrigation systems, bringing fallow land under cultivation, introducing crop zoning, diversifying agricultural products, ensuring transparent incentives for farmers, providing low-interest loans and crop insurance, and building modern storage facilities.
The prime minister also said the government has taken a program to excavate 20,000 kilometres of canals to improve irrigation, while subsidies are being provided to make agricultural machinery such as tractors and harvesters more accessible.
He said the crop zoning system will help determine suitable crops for specific regions based on soil and climate conditions, thereby increasing productivity. Efforts are also underway to bring fallow land under cultivation.
Highlighting diversification, he said the country is gradually shifting from a rice-based system to expanding the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, pulses, oilseeds, spices and flowers.
The prime minister added that Tk700 crore has been allocated in the 2025-26 fiscal year under the agricultural rehabilitation program, which is being used to distribute seeds, fertilizers and other inputs free of cost to marginal and small farmers.
To improve storage, the government is constructing modern cold storage facilities and warehouses, and distributing air flow machines for onion preservation.
He also said that research institutions, including the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI), Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) and Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA), are working to develop high-yielding and disease-resistant crop varieties.
Responding to a supplementary question, the prime minister said the government is promoting the use of nano fertilizers and soil testing to improve soil fertility.
He added that agricultural workers will also benefit from the support provided under the farmer card system, alongside marginal farmers.