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comes as agriculture faces higher fertiliser and diesel costs, haor flash floods, and volatility in essential commodity prices.

He noted that urea prices, which ranged between $417 and $480 per tonne before the US-Israel war on Iran, had surged to $906 and now stand at $555. At current import prices, urea costs about Tk 56 per kg, but is sold to farmers at Tk 27, creating a subsidy gap of around Tk 29 per kg.

With annual imports of roughly 20 lakh tonnes, total subsidy needs could reach Tk 58,000 crore against the current allocation of Tk 17,000 crore, he said, adding that the government is also facing difficulties importing urea due to the war.

Abu Saleh also criticised the absence of any dedicated rehabilitation or support package for flood-affected haor farmers and pointed out that the water resources ministry’s ADP allocation has been reduced by 26 percent, with no projects for haor embankment repair or river dredging included despite recurring flash-flood risks.

He further expressed concern that the fisheries and livestock development budget has been cut by 53 percent from last year despite rising food prices and increasing dependence on fish, eggs and poultry as alternative nutrition sources.

Agricultural economist Jahangir Alam Khan said Bangladesh has recorded some of Asia’s highest food inflation over the past four years. He warned that current allocations and subsidy support may not be enough to generate the agricultural growth needed to curb inflation and reduce import dependence.

Still, he welcomed several budget measures, including reducing source tax on rice, paddy, wheat, potatoes, onions and edible oil from 1 percent to 0.5 percent, alongside other tax relief and incentives.

Economist Abdul Bayes, former vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University, said greater investment in research and development were needed to tackle recurring natural disasters.

He warned that climate impacts are becoming more severe while adaptation and mitigation efforts remain inadequate. With gains from existing high-yield crop technologies, future productivity growth will depend on more advanced technologies, he said.

Bayes also raised concern over the conversion of agricultural land for large projects, including factories. He added that fisheries, forestry and livestock require a new policy direction.

FH Ansary, managing director of ACI Agribusiness, called for targeted support for technologies such as paddy and potato harvesters, rice transplanters and dryers, and milking machines.

Citing mounting environmental pressures on agriculture, Ansary also proposed low- or zero-interest secured loans with long repayment periods for private companies alongside public-sector support to encourage innovation.

Md Masudul Haque Prodhan, economist at the Policy Research Institute of Bangladesh, cautions that continued dependence on imported fertiliser leaves subsidy expenditures highly vulnerable to global price shocks and geopolitical developments.

While tax exemptions on agricultural inputs are welcome, their benefits may not fully reach farmers without stronger market oversight and supply chain reforms, he said.