According to the latest nationwide survey, only 44.37% of Bangladesh’s agricultural land is classified as productive and sustainable, while a concerning 55.63% falls under the unsustainable category based on the ‘farm output value per hectare’—a key indicator of land productivity.
These findings, released in the Productive and Sustainable Agriculture Survey 2025, highlight significant challenges for the country’s agriculture sector in achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2.4.1, which measures the proportion of agricultural land under sustainable management.
The report, published by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) under the Sustainable Agriculture Statistics (SAS) Project, marks the country’s first comprehensive attempt to assess sustainability across agricultural dimensions using globally endorsed SDG metrics.
Alarmingly, of the land deemed sustainable, only 1.20% achieved the ‘desirable’ threshold, while 43.17% met the ‘acceptable’ level of sustainability across 11 critical sub-indicators grouped under three core dimensions: economic, environmental, and social sustainability.
Agricultural economist Jahangir Alam voiced a strong warning over the declining sustainability of Bangladesh’s farmland, attributing much of the degradation to the overuse of chemical fertilisers—particularly urea.
Citing both current research and long-standing trends, Alam emphasised that over 50% of the country’s arable land has already lost its natural fertility, largely due to the indiscriminate and excessive application of synthetic inputs.
“In the past, farmers relied more on organic fertilisers, which helped maintain soil health,” Alam told the media. “Now, with widespread use of chemical alternatives, we’re not just reducing productivity—we’re slowly killing the land.”
He stressed that the imbalance caused by chemical dependency poses dual threats: environmental degradation and public health risks. “Pesticide and fertiliser misuse not only affects the ecosystem but also enters the food chain, impacting human well-being.”
Alam called for urgent regulatory intervention, recommending legislation to promote organic fertiliser use at scale. “If we don’t act now, soil fertility will continue to decline, and future agricultural sustainability will be compromised,” he added.
He concluded by underscoring that true sustainability is not just about immediate crop yield, but about long-term ecological resilience, balanced input management, and the preservation of land for future generations.
Economic sustainability lagging in productivity
Among the three dimensions covered by the survey, economic sustainability appears to be the weakest link. While 78.79% of agricultural land met the sustainability criteria for net farm income—indicating that farming was profitable for at least one of the last three years (2022–2024)—land productivity remains a concern.
The headline figure of 44.37% sustainability in farm output value per hectare suggests that more than half of Bangladesh’s farmland is not delivering optimal economic returns.
In terms of risk resilience, 69.16% of agricultural holdings had access to risk mitigation mechanisms, such as agricultural credit, insurance, or on-farm diversification.
Environmental metrics offer mixed results
Environmental sustainability presents a mixed picture. Soil degradation affects over 27% of agricultural land, as only 72.75% of land was managed by households with less than 50% of their farmland degraded. Access to adequate water—critical for climate resilience—shows better performance, with 81.66% of land achieving sustainability under the variation in water availability indicator.
However, sustainable input management continues to be a challenge. Only 56.95% of landowners implemented two or more recommended measures for fertiliser management, and just 51.37% met sustainability standards for pesticide usage. On a more positive note, 71.05% of land supported agro-biodiversity-enhancing practices, contributing to long-term ecosystem resilience.
Social sustainability emerges stronger
In contrast, social indicators showed relatively strong performance. A striking 98.82% of agricultural households met the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) standards, suggesting widespread access to adequate food—making it the highest scoring sub-indicator in the survey.
Likewise, 89.35% of landholders had secure tenure rights, while 60.12% of agricultural areas offered unskilled labour wages above the national average, a measure of social fairness and economic inclusion in rural labor markets.
Policy implications and future direction
The findings, gathered from field data between 20 January and 5 March 2025, underscore the urgent need for targeted interventions to improve land productivity and environmental management practices. With only a tiny fraction (1.20%) of farmland achieving the desirable sustainability benchmark, the report signals that most of the country’s agriculture remains in a transitional phase—meeting basic sustainability thresholds but not yet aligned with global best practices.
As Bangladesh strives toward its SDG 2.4 commitment under the broader Zero Hunger agenda, these results provide a data-driven foundation for reshaping national agricultural policies. BBS hopes that the report will serve as a critical input for evidence-based planning in agriculture and rural development. The use of local-level data collection across economic, environmental, and social dimensions makes the survey a vital step toward monitoring sustainable agriculture in a holistic and globally comparable manner.
The government, policy-makers, and development partners are now expected to use these insights to design more targeted, inclusive, and sustainable agricultural strategies that not only boost productivity but also ensure environmental resilience and rural well-being.
Courtesy: Daily Sun.
Bd-pratidin English/TR
