“Agricultural Devastation Due to Unfair Pricing, Rural Economy in Crisis”

Mother, soil, country, agriculture, and farmer this five words woven into a single thread whose depth touches the sky. Bangladesh’s economy is agriculture-dependent, and the farmer is the person whose sweat sustains the nation’s food security.Yet he remains deprived of fair prices. In the language of modern economics, “the farmer bears the greatest risk but gains the least profit.” This truth has become even more brutal and more visible today. There is no doubt that agricultural production in Bangladesh has increased over the past decade. But no matter how high the production graph rises, the farmer’s profit line has not changed. Because when market prices rise, the extra profit is consumed by middlemen, exporters, and wholesalers. But when prices fall, the farmer bears the entire loss. Within this imbalance, a deep crisis is gradually tightening its grip on the rural economy. If this continues, Bangladesh’s overall economy will face severe risks. Farmers will leave agriculture, and the production process will be disrupted a warning sign no developing country can ignore. The impact of unfair pricing extends far beyond the agricultural field and it is silently destroying the entire rural economy. The small shopkeeper who supports a family in the village is also on the brink of loss. When farmers don’t have money, shopkeepers are forced to sell on credit, which brings instability into their homes as well. When the farmer cannot pay, transport workers raise fares, livestock farmers cannot buy feed, and even sellers of shoes and soap fall into loss. The rural economy is bound by an invisible chain, and every piece of that chain is tied to the farmer’s deprivation of fair prices. In a country where most people’s lives are linked to agriculture, if the farmer cannot even secure two meals a day, how will the village survive? And if villages collapse, the country itself will suffer. This is not a mere statement , it is reality. Government reports say that production is rising every year. But when production increases, the profit of the person closest to that production ,the farmer should also rise. Yet the farmer remains the exception. Even when he fills trucks with harvested crops, the profit goes to the truck driver, transporters, wholesalers, and retailers. The farmer receives only loss, unbearable labor, and humiliation. In this scenario, middlemen are the heart of the inequality. When onion prices rise in the market, people assume farmers are gaining profit. But the truth is even if onions sell for 200 taka in the city, the farmer still gets only 25–30 taka. This does not even recover half of his costs. The benefit of price hikes never reaches the farmer. Farmers are also cheated not only in the market but also at the policy-making table. They cannot access agricultural loans when needed; and even if they do, they face complex conditions. As a result, they are forced to take weekly installment loans from NGOs, which eventually turn into a curse. Even before crops are sold, repayment begins, crushing both their financial condition and mental strength. Families break apart, children’s education is interrupted, and sick family members go untreated. We often discuss the impact of unfair pricing in economic terms, but the real wounds form inside farmers’ homes, deep within their lives. Climate change has intensified this crisis. Repeated floods, droughts, and untimely rainfall destroy half the crops, and the remaining half sells at low prices. This double blow has trapped farmers in a vicious cycle where agriculture itself feels like a synonym for poverty. Their children no longer want to farm. Those who once worked in fields now pull rickshaws in cities or join garment factories for low wages. Agriculture has lost its promise; it has become a burden. This crisis not only devastates agriculture but also endangers long-term food security. A collapsing rural economy will force people into cities, increasing slum populations, reducing job opportunities, and fueling crime and social unrest. Agricultural instability is a chain that binds every segment of the economy. Ensuring fair prices for farmers is not just an agricultural necessity, it is national economic survival. Solving this crisis is not easy, but it is not impossible. The government must dismantle the network of middlemen and ensure direct purchase of crops from farmers. A Fair Pricing Commission should be formed to set regulated minimum crop prices for farmers. Modern storage facilities and direct selling centers must be established in villages, so farmers are not forced to sell quickly at low prices out of fear of spoilage. Agricultural loans must be simplified. A dedicated compensation fund for climate-affected farmers is essential. For Bangladesh to be sustainable, agriculture and farmers must be protected. The hands that secure the nation’s food must not remain hungry. Farmers will truly smile only when their labor receives fair value, when no one can exploit them, when the market does not stand against them, and when the state stands beside them. If the farmer survives, agriculture will survive and the economy of Bangladesh will be strengthened.