Form agricultural price commission: experts

Bangladesh urgently needs an "Agricultural Price Commission" to ensure fair prices for farmers and stabilise the country's largest employment sector, agriculture experts and policymakers said yesterday.

Despite contributing significantly to food security and employment, Bangladesh's agriculture sector remains exposed to price shocks, unpredictable weather, and unchecked middlemen profits—without any institutional mechanism to regulate or influence farmgate pricing, they said.

In contrast, sectors such as electricity, pharmaceuticals, and tobacco already have such regulatory bodies in place, they pointed out while speaking at an event titled "Protecting the Farmers: The Case for an Agricultural Price Commission," organised by Khani and Participatory Research and Action Network (PRAAN) at The Daily Star Centre.

"An agricultural price commission must be set up to announce minimum support prices and procurement prices for agricultural products, aiming to protect farmers from price volatility and encourage production," said Jahangir Alam Khan, a prominent agricultural economist.

Stating that many countries have established institutions to regulate or influence agricultural prices, he said, "These institutions or bodies play a crucial role in ensuring fair prices for farmers, maintaining stable markets, and safeguarding the interests of consumers."

The economist argued that an independent agricultural price commission would be able to adopt a scientific approach in providing recommendations by considering conditions prevailing in both domestic and international markets, to benefit producers and consumers alike.

Khan mentioned that the National Agricultural Policy 2018 recommends creating a structured "Agriculture Price Commission" to provide guidelines for strengthening agricultural marketing, ensuring fair prices for farmers, and maintaining affordable prices for consumers.

Bangladesh ranks among the top 10 global producers of 22 agricultural products—including third in rice and vegetable production, seventh in potato, first in jute, and fifth in aquaculture.

In recent years, however, the country's agriculture sector has witnessed a glaring slowdown in growth, prompting fresh concerns about food security, rural incomes, and overall economic recovery.

Presenting the keynote paper at the event, Umme Salma, programme coordinator at PRAAN, stated that Bangladesh's agriculture sector recorded 1.79 percent growth in fiscal year 2024-25—the weakest in over a decade, matching the lowest level in the past 11 years.

"This growth rate is the lowest in recent years, and one of the main reasons behind it is flooding, followed by drought and heavy rains, which have significantly disrupted cultivation," she said.

The agricultural workforce has declined sharply—from 62 percent in 2000 to 35.27 percent in 2025—posing a serious challenge to retaining farmers without ensuring reasonable profits, she added.

Sharmind Neelormi, professor at the Department of Economics, Jahangirnagar University, said that from 2000 to 2016, male participation in agriculture declined while female participation increased. However, from 2016 to 2023, female participation also declined.

Nurul Alam Masud, chief executive of PRAAN, emphasised that agriculture's contribution to gross domestic product is gradually declining, raising concerns about whether the sector is being increasingly neglected.

Farah Kabir, country director of ActionAid Bangladesh, said, "We must plan our agricultural production with the impacts of climate change in mind. Interventions should be tailored to the specific needs of each geographical region."

Former agriculture secretary Anwar Faruque said the biggest challenge in the agriculture sector right now is that farmers are not getting fair prices for their produce.

"Even minimal support to farmers could have been beneficial for them," he said, adding, "Bangladesh is failing to take even the preliminary steps needed before forming a price commission."

For instance, Faruque said in India's West Bengal, the government procures 20 percent of total rice production, while in Bangladesh it is not even 1 percent. "In such a situation, how can farmers be ensured fair prices?"

There is also a lack of coordination among the relevant ministries, and this must be addressed first, he added.

Md Abdul Muyeed, former director general of the Department of Agricultural Extension, said consumers often tend to have a negative attitude.

"Whenever the price of a product rises in the market, they immediately start questioning why it has increased. But they fail to acknowledge the rising production hardships faced by farmers. That's why social awareness needs to be increased," he said.

Meanwhile, Mihir Kumar Roy, former dean of the faculty of business and economics at the City University of Bangladesh, said that to solve the problem of farmers not receiving fair prices, political commitment from the government is essential. "There is no other way to address this issue."

Md Mahmudur Rahman, additional secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, said India's minimum support price for 23 products is under consideration, but Bangladesh needs to think about implementing such measures for perishable goods.

"The government has already started strategic planning in this regard," he said.

Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian, secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, said the biggest challenge in the sector is the lack of proper information and statistics.

Data manipulation has long been a problem, he said, adding that accurate statistics can benefit farmers.

"Having worked with farmers, we are committed to maintaining a farmer-friendly environment," he said.

"We have identified six hotspots in the country and developed nine thematic areas for professional development. Based on this, we are formulating a 25-year agricultural plan," he added.