The BNP government led by Tarique Rahman has completed six months, or 180 days, in office. In agriculture, its priorities have been bringing farmers directly under government support, developing farm infrastructure, raising output and environmentally friendly farm management.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, one of the most visible achievements is canal excavation and re-excavation: 475.61 km completed against a 180-day target of 478.9 km, about 99.3 percent. Nationally, 20,000 km of canals are to be dug or re-excavated over five years, 6,000 km of them under the Ministry of Agriculture, and a separate project has been launched to speed up the work.

The farmer card aims to bring farmers into an integrated database so that inputs, machinery, irrigation and government support can reach them directly, based on data on their land and production. A database of about 1.25 million farmers has been built, and 20,832 farmers received cards in the pre-pilot stage. The long-term plan is a database of about 25 million farmers nationwide.

• The six-month target of planting 2.5 million tree saplings was met; 30 million are planned over five years.
• Work has begun on a draft crop insurance scheme, and an advisory committee is being formed to reduce harm from pesticides to human health and the environment.
• The fertiliser dealer appointment and retention policy 2025 has been revised.
• A separate high-value crop project has been launched for the northern region.
• Agricultural loans of up to Tk 10,000 for small and marginal farmers were waived; Bangladesh Krishi Bank waived more than Tk 600 crore for over 700,000 farmers in five months.
• Airflow machines for onion storage and solar-powered mini cold storage have been installed at farm level.
• A one-stop export service is being introduced, and a vapour heat treatment (VHT) plant has opened in Dhaka to treat produce to international standards without chemicals.

Joint secretary Nuruzzaman said most initiatives are being implemented and the canal target was almost fully met. Agricultural economist Dr. Jahangir Alam Khan said the government's commitment to farming had been visible from the start, noting the loan waiver and a farm credit target raised by about 11 percent to Tk 43,335 crore from Tk 39,000 crore. He added that the plan to re-excavate about 20,000 km of canals and rivers in four years, to reduce dependence on groundwater, would benefit agriculture if properly implemented.

Agriculture Secretary Selim Khan said the ministry is implementing the manifesto pledges on farmer cards, tree planting, canal digging, loan waivers, precision agriculture, commercial farming and mechanisation. Farmer cards will be expanded nationwide in stages over four years, and digital services for farmers will be delivered through them. Food processing, precision agriculture, modern mechanisation and cropping zones are being prioritised, he said.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.