Crops

Tista Meander Floodplain (AEZ-3): Ridges, Basins and the Changing Harvests of Northern Bangladesh

The Tista Meander Floodplain, Bangladesh's third agro-ecological zone, covers nearly a million hectares from Panchagarh to Bogura. Old river courses left it a patchwork of quick-draining ridges and wetter basins, acidic soils short of several nutrients, and farms that grow rice, potatoes, maize and mustard side by side. New research at Rangpur shows four and five crops a year are possible, and satellite data and artificial intelligence could help match each field to the right crop, if their advice is tested in farmers' fields first.

Tania Chowdhary2 October 202612 min read

Bangladesh

Active Tista Floodplain (AEZ-2): Farming Where the Teesta Gives and Takes Land

Bangladesh's second agro-ecological zone is a narrow, restless belt along the Teesta, Dharla and Dudhkumar rivers. Here the river builds new land and takes old land away, and farmers grow maize, potatoes, chillies and carrots on chars that may vanish in the next flood. Understanding it takes village-level records, and satellite images and machine learning can help only when they are checked in farmers' fields.

Tania Chowdhary30 September 202612 min read

Bangladesh

Old Himalayan Piedmont Plain (AEZ-1): Farming at the Foot of the Himalayas

Bangladesh's first agro-ecological zone stretches across Panchagarh, Thakurgaon and north-western Dinajpur on land laid down by an ancient Tista river fan. Its light, acidic soils set the rules for farming, and researchers say satellite data and machine learning will help farmers only when they are checked in real fields.

Tania Chowdhary29 September 202612 min read

Crops

Why boro rice matters

More than half of Bangladesh's rice comes from the boro season. Continuity of supply through the year, irrigation as insurance against drought, 5 to 8 tonnes a hectare, farm incomes and rural jobs, climate-tolerant varieties and stocks for hard times: why the boro crop matters so much.

Tania Chowdhary21 September 20261 min read

Agribusiness

Coast Guard launches Operation Sar Suraksha to stop fertiliser smuggling to Myanmar

A 50 kg sack of urea costs farmers Tk 1,350 at home but sells for about Tk 9,000 in Myanmar; the Coast Guard seized 255 tonnes of fertiliser between July and 25 September.

Amar Desh2 October 20263 min read

Crops

Meherpur farmers short of DAP and TSP as aman and winter vegetables collide

Meherpur's aman and winter vegetables need about 3,656 tonnes of DAP and TSP, but September's allocation was 2,197 tonnes, and farmers queue at dealers without getting what they need.

Prothom Alo2 October 20262 min read

Environment

Encroachment and pollution choke Jhenaidah's 12 rivers, putting farms at risk

Encroachment, silting, pollution and dams at their sources are killing Jhenaidah's 12 rivers, including the Nabaganga, Chitra and Kumar, disrupting irrigation and raising the risk of waterlogged farmland.

Krishi Shomoy2 October 20262 min read

Environment

Untreated rice-mill waste fouls canals and farmland in Santahar

Liquid waste from several automatic rice mills in Santahar, Bogura, is reaching canals and cropland without treatment; tests found just 1.2 milligrams of dissolved oxygen per litre in canal water.

Krishi Shomoy2 October 20262 min read

Crops

Sweet sugarcane spreads in Sharsha's border villages near Benapole

About 47 hectares of sugarcane were planted in Sharsha, Jashore, this season, mostly in Putkhali near Benapole, where farmers say a bigha costing Tk 30,000 to 40,000 can earn Tk 1.5 to 2 lakh.

Krishi Shomoy2 October 20262 min read

Crops

Khagrachhari farmer grows lemongrass between his mango trees

In Matiranga, Khagrachhari, Forkan Uddin grows lemongrass as a companion crop in the gaps of his mango orchard; fresh lemongrass sells for Tk 250 to 300 a kilogram.

Krishi Shomoy2 October 20262 min read

Crops

Naogaon jute growers get good fibre and prices up to Tk 4,500 a maund

Jute yields and fibre quality are both good in Naogaon this year, and at Manda's Sotihat market a maund sells for Tk 3,800 to 4,500 depending on quality and variety.

Krishi Shomoy2 October 20262 min read

Vegetables

Hill torrent swamps early winter vegetables of 200 Fatikchhari farmers

A sudden hill torrent on Tuesday and Wednesday ruined much of the early rabi and winter vegetables on about 100 hectares of chars along the Dhurung canal in Kanchannagar, Fatikchhari.

Krishi Shomoy2 October 20262 min read

Crops

Jute sticks become a bonus crop for Kaunia's jute farmers

In Kaunia, Rangpur, the jute sticks from 24 decimals of land fetch Tk 10,000-15,000, and demand from charcoal and particle-board factories is making up for the early-season fall in jute prices.

Amar Desh2 October 20262 min read

Crops

Corn ethanol set to reach a third of Brazil's output two years early

StoneX expects corn to supply a third of Brazil's ethanol by 2027/28, and Inpasa, the world's second-largest producer, turns second-crop corn into fuel, cattle feed and oil for other biofuels.

Global Agriculture1 October 20262 min read

Crops

Indian pesticide makers oppose data protection, warning of higher costs for farmers

The Crop Care Federation of India says extra exclusivity for agrochemical data would delay cheaper generic pesticides, because patented molecules already reach India late.

Global Agriculture1 October 20262 min read

Agribusiness

Aries Agro lifts plant-nutrition capacity to 101,400 tonnes with Gujarat plant

The Indian plant-nutrition company commissioned a 6,000-tonne facility at Sayakha, grew its depot network to 30 and says it reached 54,948 farmers through awareness meetings during the year.

Global Agriculture1 October 20261 min read