Rice farming is a critical agricultural sector that supports millions of farmers and feeds billions of people around the world. However, recent reports have shown that high costs are threatening the sustainability of rice farming. The rising prices of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and labor, coupled with climate change, are making it difficult for farmers to sustain their operations. This article delves deeper into the potential impacts of high costs on rice farming and explores possible solutions to the looming crisis.
The economic crisis in Bangladesh has hit the farmers hard, with soaring cultivation and living costs adding to their woes during the summer, a season that also brings fear of heavy rains and floods. After years of low prices and disastrous weather events, many cultivators have fallen into further indebtedness due to high-interest loans taken to cope with the ongoing economic crisis. With the cost of almost every agricultural input going up, including seed, fertiliser, pesticide, labour and irrigation, farmers are facing pressure to switch to non-rice crop cultivation as a means of reducing their costs.
Agricultural economists and agriculturists have stated that the job of growing crops has become more difficult for the millions of poverty-stricken farmers, with household expenditure increasing by 13% in the six months until February. The rising inflation has further added to the financial strain, with 90% of Bangladesh’s nearly 2 crore farmers being smallholders, many of whom own no land. As a result, three in every four smallholder farmers depend on loans to cope with the rising inflation.
The cost of cultivation today is exponentially higher than it has been in the past, causing farmers to be further burdened. For instance, the cost of boro paddy, the country’s main staple, has risen by about Tk 5,000 a bigha in the northern region following a rise of up to 50% in oil, gas, and electricity prices since June 2022. Government agricultural officers, research bodies, and farmers have confirmed that the cost of every agricultural input, including seed, fertiliser, pesticide, labour, and irrigation, has gone up substantially.
Despite the dramatic rise in expenses, the boro cultivation target of about 50 lakh hectares has been achieved so far. However, agricultural economists caution that farmers must take home their full harvest to avoid natural disasters or any other disruptions that could be unbearable for many farmers. As fertiliser costs rise, cattle-rearing costs, including that of rice and its byproducts such as broken rice and rice hulls, is also increasing, presenting a further challenge for farmers.
The country’s impoverished farmers, who depend heavily on irrigation with water lifted by electric pumps and urea fertiliser produced using natural gas, account for about 60% of its some 4-crore-tonne rice production, and thus, are now under immense pressure. As the cost of irrigating one bigha of land climbs to Tk 1,500 this year from Tk 1,200 spent in the past year, farmers in the north would have to spend Tk 17 crore extra for irrigation.
Many farmers have had to take on more high-interest loans to keep up with the high production cost, as a result of which they are unable to clear their debts from the past year. For instance, Arman Ali, a farmer of Mohipur, Gangachara, Rangpur, is almost out of the amount of Tk 70,000 he had borrowed at a 14% interest rate from a microcredit lender. He says there are no words to explain his situation, and he needs to irrigate and fertilise his rice fields before the harvest, but that he could not clear his debt from the past year from another lender.
The weather so far has been better than expected this year. However, frequent power cuts affected irrigation during farming. As farming consistently becomes more challenging, with farmers adopting innovative ways such as migrating to cities during the lean season to work as rickshaw pullers for additional income, the price of electricity was increased three times and the gas price once since January, affecting farmers even more.
With agriculture providing employment for 55% of Bangladesh’s workforce and accounting for 12% of the GDP, it is crucial in holding the country’s economy together. Abdul Bayes, who taught economics at Jahangirnagar University, believes that all subsidies should be diverted to agriculture. He suggested that the government increase rice procurement from farmers and ensure legitimate prices, adding that agriculture must be saved.
In conclusion, the economic struggles faced by Bangladeshi farmers, including their rising costs of cultivation and the economic crisis that has persisted for years, continue to take a toll on their livelihoods. However, they remain resilient and continue to cultivate even though their ability to keep up with high expenses is limited. The government must intervene by providing subsidies, and officials must find ways to contain the rising costs of agricultural inputs to alleviate the hardships faced by smallholders.
