Bangladesh has long been celebrated as a quiet success story in global agriculture. In just a few decades, it transformed from a famine-prone nation into one of the world’s leading rice producers. Today, markets are full, harvests are strong, and the spectre of large-scale famine has largely receded.
However, underneath this comforting exterior, a more complex reality exists -- one that is increasingly difficult to overlook.
Bangladesh is producing more food than ever before. Yet millions of people remain food insecure.
According to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) published in late 2024, about 23 million people in Bangladesh faced crisis-level or worse food insecurity.
A 2025 assessment released through ReliefWeb also shows that roughly 15.5 million people experienced acute food insecurity during that year.
These figures are significant, reflecting a persistent and systemic challenge.
The contradiction is clear: How can a country that produces abundant food still face difficulties in ensuring everyone has access to it?
The answer lies not in production, but in the system.
For decades, Bangladesh’s food policy has successfully concentrated on boosting production. Investments in irrigation, better seed varieties, and farmer resilience have led to notable improvements.
However, simply increasing food production does not ensure food security. In recent times, the challenges are shifting to other areas.
Consider climate impacts. In 2024, devastating floods destroyed approximately 1.1 million tons of rice, prompting the government to resort to imports and driving up prices.
These shocks are no longer exceptional; they are becoming an everyday reality. For a nation already prone to flooding and extreme weather, climate change continues to undermine the stability that agricultural growth once ensured.
Then, there is the issue of what occurs after the harvest.
Large amounts of food are lost before reaching consumers. According to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), post-harvest losses in Bangladesh for perishable items such as fruits and vegetables can range from 17% to 30%.
These losses stem from structural issues such as inadequate cold storage, inefficient transport systems, and fragmented supply chains.
In other words, Bangladesh faces not only a production challenge but also a preservation challenge.
Farmers are at the core of this system, productive and hardworking, yet often at a disadvantage.
Despite worldwide progress in agricultural technology, most farmers in Bangladesh still lack access to modern, adaptive, and precision tools, reliable weather forecasts, soil health data, and the expertise needed to manage risks and recover from setbacks.
Without these resources, productivity improvements stay uneven and susceptible to shocks.
Equally crucial is the challenge of market access. Farmers often receive only a small share of the final market price due to intermediaries and the pressure to sell quickly after harvest.
Lacking proper storage and bargaining power, they face vulnerability to price fluctuations. This creates a paradox: Food producers are frequently among the most economically insecure.
Global forces extend their impact beyond national borders, increasing pressure worldwide. The conflict in various countries and ongoing geopolitical tensions have disturbed international supply chains, leading to rising costs for wheat, fertilizer, and fuel.
For Bangladesh, a nation reliant on imports of essential goods, these disruptions directly lead to higher domestic food prices.
When international market fluctuations coincide with internal economic weaknesses, the effects become more pronounced.
This convergence of pressures reveals a system under stress, not a failure of agriculture.
Bangladesh has addressed the issue of food production more broadly. However, it has yet to resolve the challenges associated with the efficient movement, safe storage, fair pricing, and sustained accessibility of food amid shocks.
This difference is significant for policy.
The future of food security in Bangladesh demands a shift in approach -- from focusing solely on production to emphasizing entire systems. Investments should extend beyond farms to include infrastructure such as cold storage, logistics, and value chains.
Farmers require access to advanced technology, climate data, and equitable market conditions. Additionally, the country must strengthen its resilience against climate-related shocks and fluctuations in the global market. These are not merely small tweaks; they are fundamental structural reforms.
Bangladesh’s success in agriculture deserves recognition for feeding its population despite significant challenges. However, the upcoming challenge is more complicated.
Bangladesh can produce sufficient food, but the real question is whether it can develop a resilient system capable of maintaining that accomplishment.
Dr Ezaz Mamun is a freelance contributor from Australia.