Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has said that around 40% of the country’s population is directly or indirectly involved in agriculture, underscoring the sector’s central role in the national economy.
He made the remarks while addressing the inauguration of the Farmers’ Card distribution and pre-piloting program at Shaheed Maruf Stadium in Tangail on Tuesday.
“A significant portion of our population depends on agriculture for their livelihood. Some 40 million families are linked to this sector in various ways. Agriculture remains the backbone of our economy,” the prime minister said.
He added that the government aims to provide Farmers’ Cards to 22,000 farmers in the first phase.
Referring to past initiatives, Tarique Rahman said that 1.2 million farmers have already benefited from the waiver of agricultural loans of up to Tk10,000, including interest. He also highlighted earlier efforts to boost agricultural productivity, including irrigation expansion through canal excavation programmes.
“If farmers survive and prosper, Bangladesh will prosper,” he said, adding that the government is working to make farmers self-reliant and financially secure.
According to the prime minister, the Farmers’ Card will allow the government to directly provide at least 10 types of benefits to farmers, including annual financial assistance, identification, subsidies, loans, seeds and fertiliser support—reducing dependency on intermediaries.
He further said that the government has launched a nationwide canal excavation programme, with a target of digging 20,000 kilometres of canals over the next five years to improve irrigation and water management.
Highlighting the need for agro-based industrialisation, he said initiatives will be taken to establish processing industries in agricultural regions and expand export opportunities. Plans are also underway to improve cold storage facilities, including for mangoes and other produce from Tangail’s Madhupur region.
Tarique Rahman also stressed the importance of women’s economic participation, noting that family cards for female heads of households have been introduced and will be expanded gradually over the next five years.
Earlier, the prime minister formally inaugurated the Farmers’ Card program and distributed cards among selected farmers. He also inaugurated the programme in nine other upazilas via video conference.
Ministers, senior officials, local representatives, farmers and people from different professions attended the event.
Later in the day, the prime minister inaugurated an agricultural fair at the Tangail municipal park and visited various stalls.
