Food Security Faces Mounting Risks
The amount of farmland in Bangladesh keeps falling year after year. Agriculture officials and experts have voiced deep worry about food security for the growing population. They say that if arable land keeps shrinking like this, the country’s food security and farm production will face a big crisis in future.
The Soil Resource Development Institute (SRDI) says about 69 thousand hectares (about 68,760 hectares) of farmland move to non farm use every year. Unplanned urbanisation, fast industrialisation, new settlements, road and infrastructure building and river erosion cause this loss. A 2025 report of the Asian Development Bank says farmland falls by 0.36 percent every year. About 307 acres of land go to industry, urban growth, homes and roads every day.
Noted agricultural economist Mr. M A Sattar Mondal said there is no doubt that arable land is falling. Rural and urban settlements grow as the population grows. Buildings even come up in the middle of crop fields. Industrialisation also takes more farmland. He said the economy and jobs need industry, but it must grow in a planned way. In the last few years, 2 percent of the farmland has moved to non farm use. Bangladesh’s population is about to pass 20 crore. If we cannot stop this loss of land, we cannot ensure food for everyone in future.
The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) says arable land has fallen by about 30 percent in the 52 years since independence. Farm output, however, has grown a lot in the same period. From 1971 to 2023, rice output grew 3.8 times, wheat output 17.27 times and maize output 2,266.67 times. At independence, the country had 8.33 lakh hectares of saline land. It rose to 20.5 lakh hectares in 2023. In 2024, the amount of saline land stood at 11.56 lakh hectares.
A research paper of the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) is titled “Rice Vision for Bangladesh: 2050 and Beyond”. It says the country’s population will reach 21 crore 54 lakh in 2050. The country will then need 4 crore 46 lakh tonnes of rice every year. The paper says the country can meet this need only if the area under rice farming does not fall. In the 2024 25 fiscal year, the country produced about 4 crore tonnes of rice.
Dr. Shahidur Rashid Bhuiyan, a professor and former Vice Chancellor of Sherebangla Agricultural University, called the situation a matter of deep worry. He said the population grows while the farmland needed for food production shrinks. He said rice land falls day by day. If we do not take proper steps now, the country may face a severe food crisis in the near future.
Dr. Bhuiyan said the government should plan multi storey buildings in rural areas now to save farmland. He also stressed raising productivity through research. He said Bangladesh still lags behind India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka in Boro rice yield. He said the country may not be able to grow all the food it needs. So it must redesign its farming system to produce high yielding and nutritious food.
Agriculture Secretary Mr. Md. Selim Khan said the country needs one joint action plan to protect farmland. Otherwise, it will be impossible to save it. He said farmland is used not only for government projects but also for private ventures such as resorts and housing complexes, and this must stop. He said the present government is working on a policy to protect farmland and ensure food security for the growing population. The government has already prepared a draft of it.
