Abdul Hakim, a farmer from Chuadanga Sadar Upazila, cultivated Boro paddy on four and a half bighas (1 Bigha = 14400 Square Feet) of land last season. Even without accounting for his own labour, he meticulously recorded every cost — irrigation, fertiliser, seeds, labour and transportation. At the end of the season, after selling the paddy, he found that he was left with a surplus of only BDT 6,000 after deducting all expenses. This amount did not even include the value of his own months of hard work. Based on this experience, Abdul Hakim has cultivated paddy on only three bighas this season and planted corn on the remaining land. He plans to reduce paddy cultivation even further next season.
“If I include the value of my own labour, there’s no profit in paddy cultivation; in fact, I incur a loss,” said Abdul Hakim. “The income generated after so much hard work barely covers the expenses.”
Agricultural experts state that farmers see no profit in Boro paddy. Sometimes, the money earned from selling the paddy does not even cover the production costs. Consequently, they are gradually losing interest in Boro paddy cultivation. Despite Aman cultivation being more widespread than Boro, it lags far behind in terms of productivity. If farmers’ interest in Boro cultivation continues to decline, the country’s food security could face a threat in the future.
Regarding this, Professor AHM Saiful Islam of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Bangladesh Agricultural University told Bonik Barta, “The production cost of Boro paddy is high. Around 2017-18, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) conducted three rounds of surveys on this, which showed that the net return on Boro paddy was negative. Now, agriculture is becoming commercialised. We’re no longer in a situation where we cultivate solely for consumption as before. The social stigma of ‘should I buy food to eat?’ has also faded. Consequently, farmers are now calculating profits before deciding what to cultivate. This may not have reached a massive scale yet, but the trend is increasing. So, when farmers see that they’re not making a profit, they’ll turn away from that crop. Indeed, there won’t be a sudden, massive change. It might happen that a farmer who used to cultivate 10 bighas now cultivates eight or nine. That’s how the change may come about gradually.”
The majority of total rice production — approximately 55 to 60 percent — comes from Boro, while about 35 to 40 percent comes from Aman and Aus, with Aus contributing a very small portion.
In the FY 2023-24, Boro was cultivated on 41.82 percent of the country’s rice-growing land, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS). Aman was cultivated on 49.31 percent, and Aus was cultivated on 8.87 percent. In that fiscal year, around 21.06 million (21,068,368) tons of Boro paddy were produced on around 4.87 million (4,877,775) hectares of land. Despite cultivating Aman on around 5.75 million (5,750,755) hectares of land, the yield was around 16.65 million (16,656,263) tons. Aus was cultivated on around 1.03 million (1,034,770) hectares, yielding around 2.97 million (2,972,858) tons of paddy.
The production cost of Boro paddy is about 35 to 60 percent higher than that of Aman, experts and various research studies indicate. A primary reason for this is that Aman is rain-fed, whereas Boro is highly dependent on irrigation. Boro consequently requires extensive and continuous irrigation systems. It also requires more fertiliser and pesticides, along with other nutritional supplements. More labour is also needed. While Boro’s yield per hectare is 20 to 30 percent higher than that of Aman, the higher costs often force farmers to incur losses.
According to agricultural economists, the cost of agricultural inputs has increased. Although the government provides subsidies on fertiliser, farmers’ expenses for irrigation, labour, pesticides, transportation and threshing have risen. Conversely, they complain that they are unable to sell their produce at fair prices. For these reasons, they are losing interest in Boro cultivation. Due to geographical reasons, farmers in some areas cannot abandon this crop because there is no opportunity for alternative cultivation. But cultivation is decreasing in the plains. Despite the relative costs of Aman and Aus being lower, the yields are not high. So the government must take policy measures to reduce production costs and put farmers in a profitable position. Otherwise, the country’s food security will be at risk.
The production cost for farmers per kilogram of Boro paddy in the FY 2022-23 was BDT 29.53, according to the agriculture ministry. In the FY 2023-24, this cost was set at BDT 31.60. The production cost for farmers per acre of transplanted Boro hybrid paddy in the 2024-25 fiscal year is BDT 81,921, according to the Department of Agricultural Extension. With the addition of BDT 2,250 for transportation and other expenses, the total comes to BDT 84,171. If 3,000 kilograms of paddy are produced per acre, the farmer’s cost, including transportation, stands at BDT 28.05 per kilogram. But when accounting for the BDT 9,000 value obtained from straw, the Ministry of Agriculture’s calculation puts the farmer’s net cost at BDT 24.31 per kilogram. Farmers sold the paddy at an average of BDT 27.49 per kilogram, realising a profit of 2.43 BDT per kilogram. Based on this, a farmer earned a profit of only BDT 7,292 from cultivating one acre of Boro paddy. But according to economists, the actual production costs for farmers are even higher than government estimates.
Dr Mohammad Yunus, research director at the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), told Bonik Barta, “Farmers’ production costs are increasing, but productivity hasn’t increased. Productivity must be improved. A lot of research is needed here, which isn’t happening. Farmers aren’t getting fair prices; various middlemen are active in the market. Consequently, when they see lower profits, they naturally shift to other crops. That’s why market management is essential. If farmers receive fair prices and productivity is increased, they will benefit. If farmers prosper, agriculture will survive. If agriculture survives, our food security will be ensured.”
“Government policies are like taking paracetamol when one has a fever — initiatives are taken to solve immediate problems, but long-term considerations are overlooked. There’s no alternative to increasing research in this sector,” he further stated.
Stating that the government is working to reduce production costs for farmers, Agriculture Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid told Bonik Barta, “It’s not untrue that farmers face high production costs and don’t get fair prices. One of the reasons for this is that farmers don’t know the actual market demand in the country. They sometimes fail to get good prices due to surplus production. We’re creating a database for farmers through ‘Farmer Cards.’ This will allow farmers to know the demand and produce accordingly. If this is implemented, their crops won’t go unsold or be sold at low prices.”
“We’re working to reduce the production costs for farmers. One of their major areas of cost is fertiliser application. We’ve recently conducted research and found that the overuse of fertiliser is due to increasing alkalinity in the soil. Measures are being taken based on this research. Through this, the use of fertiliser will decrease by 23 percent. Another major cost area is irrigation. To reduce irrigation costs for farmers, we’re shifting toward solar power. This will significantly reduce their expenses. The government has only been in office for four months. If we work for a while longer, I hope these problems will largely be resolved,” he added.