—Dr M Jamal Uddin—

Bangladesh won its independence in 1971. At that time, it was a war-torn country. Agriculture was the main source of people’s livelihood. The production systems were weak, technology was limited and dependence on imports was high. The country has walked a long way since then. The changes and progress Bangladesh has achieved in the agricultural sector in the past fifty five years is indeed remarkable.

Immediately after victory, there was an extreme food crisis in the country. In the fiscal year 1972-73, the total foodgrain production was only about 1.1 crore tonnes, while the population was about seven crore. As a result, 20-25 lakh tonnes of food grains, mainly rice and wheat, had to be imported every year. The experience of famine made increasing agricultural production a state priority.

The impact of the ‘Green Revolution’ started to be visible in Bangladesh from the 1980s. The development and expansion of high yielding varieties (HYV) and later hybrid rice and wheat varieties revolutionised agriculture. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) and Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRI) have played important roles in increasing the production of the newly developed varieties of crops.

The greatest success has come in the production of food grains. Bangladesh achieved a revolutionary progress in rice production mainly thanks to effective research, irrigation initiatives and the use of improved seeds. After independence, wheat production increased from 2-3 lakh tonnes to 15-16 lakh tonnes at one point. However, import dependence has now increased to some extent. Maize production has increased from almost zero to 73.9 lakh tonnes at present. As a result of this increase in production, Bangladesh is far ahead today, although it has to import in adverse years.

Irrigation expansion and mechanisation facilities have increased significantly. At the time of independence, only 10–12% of the country’s total arable land was under irrigation. Currently it has increased to more than 75%. Deep and shallow tube wells, diesel and electric pumps have transformed agriculture into three seasons.

At the same time, agricultural mechanisation increased. Power tillers were used almost everywhere. And of late, combine harvesters are slowly gaining popularity. This has reduced production costs and eased labour shortages. Crop diversification and high-value agriculture have increased in prevalence. At one time, agriculture meant only rice-based cultivation, but today crop diversity has increased significantly.

Farmers’ interest in growing vegetables, fruits, spices, pulses, oilseeds and flowers has increased. Bangladesh is now close to surplus in potato, vegetable and fruit production. Besides, fish, livestock and poultry sector has become a strong sub-sector of agriculture. Bangladesh is currently one of the leading countries in the world in fish production.

There has been a gradual diversification from rice-centric agriculture. The production of vegetables is more than 2 crore tons per year. Potato production is above 1 crore tonnes (country surplus). Fruit production ssignificant progress has been made in the production of mango, banana, guava and litchi.

Although the production of onion, garlic and ginger has increased, there is still dependence on imports. Advances in the livestock and fisheries sectors have also led to major changes in the sub-sectors of agriculture. Fish production, egg and poultry protein deficits have largely been met. Although milk production has increased, there is still a limited import requirement.

Agricultural exports and value chains have expanded. Exports of agriculture and agro-based products have also increased, such as frozen fish and shrimp, vegetables and fruits (in the Middle East and Europe) and processed food products. However, due to poor processing, quality control and preservation systems, the export potential is not fully exploited.

Climate change and adaptation have brought many changes. Agriculture in Bangladesh is most threatened by climate change. So, significant progress has been made in adaptive agriculture through the development of drought-tolerant, salt-tolerant, and short-duration crop varieties. Floating agriculture, vegetable cultivation on raised beds, changing crop calendar-these innovative techniques have opened up new horizons of climate resilient agriculture. The combined role of government subsidies, agricultural credit, distribution of fertilisers and seeds, agricultural research institutes (BARI, BRRI, BARC) and the extension department accelerated the progress of agriculture.

According to the recently released Bangladesh Economic Survey-2025 by the Ministry of Finance, the agriculture sector has contributed 11.62% of the GDP in the fiscal year 2024-25 and employs about 46% of the labour force in the agricultural sector. The total production of food grains in the same financial year was 503.54 lakh metric tons while milk production was 155.38 lakh metric tons, meat production was 89.54 lakh metric tons and egg production was 2 thousand 440 crores. And now the country aims to transform its ‘subsistence’ agriculture into ‘commercial agriculture’.

Well, there are some major challenges ahead such as land loss, youth’s apathy towards farming profession, weak market systems, and climate risk. To deal with these, smart agriculture, processing of agricultural products, export-oriented production and development of young entrepreneurs in agriculture are needed. Agriculture will continue to be the main driving force of Bangladesh’s development in the future if proper policies and sustainable planning continue.