Farmer Card budget set to nearly double at Tk1,355cr

The government plans to almost double the budget for its proposed Farmer Card programme to Tk1,355 crore from Tk750 crore, aiming to bring around 2.4 crore farmers under a digital platform offering agricultural subsidies, incentives and access to bank loans.
The Ministry of Agriculture has sent a proposal to revise the allocation to the Planning Commission for approval under the Programme on Agricultural and Rural Transformation for Nutrition, Entrepreneurship and Resilience in Bangladesh (PARTNER), a senior official told the Daily Sun.
The proposed increase comes as the Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division (IMED) has found slow progress in the wider project, with the farmer smart card and agricultural machinery components yet to begin at the time of its assessment.
Abul Kalam Azad, former programme coordinator of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) component of PARTNER, said the initial allocation of Tk750 crore had proved insufficient, as the estimated implementation cost had risen to around Tk1,400 crore.
“We have revised the allocation to Tk1,355 crore and sent the proposal for approval,” he said, adding that the additional funds would be arranged by reallocating around Tk650 crore from less important or unnecessary components of the project. 
“Not a single taka will be added to the overall project cost. We are only reappropriating funds from one component to another,” he said.
Of the proposed allocation, around Tk809 crore would be channelled through banks to provide benefits to farmers. The remaining funds would cover farmer registration, data collection, software development and other implementation costs.

2.4 crore farmers targeted
The government plans to distribute cards to around 2.4 crore farmers, with about 43 lakh expected to receive them by June next year. The remaining farmers are expected to be covered by 2027, according to Azad.
The cards will provide farmers with a digital identity and a centralised platform to access government agricultural support. Subsidies and incentives are expected to be the first major services offered, while farmers will also be able to apply for agricultural loans, subject to individual banks’ lending policies.
Azad said subsidies and incentives would not have to be repaid, while loans would remain subject to the respective banks’ terms and conditions.
The initiative is expected to help the government maintain a central database of farmers, improve the targeting of assistance and make the delivery of benefits more efficient. However, the revised allocation is still awaiting approval, and card distribution had not started at the time covered by the IMED assessment.

Slow project progress raises concerns
The PARTNER project scheduled to run from July 2023 to June 2028 involves Tk6,910.93 crore, with funding from the Bangladesh government, the World Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).
The project is being implemented through seven agencies. The DAE component has an allocation of Tk3,071.44 crore.
According to the IMED’s intensive monitoring report, 34 months, or 56.67% of the project’s 60-month duration, had elapsed by April 2026. However, financial progress stood at 23.59% and physical progress at 37%.
Progress in the capital component was particularly slow, at 9.21%, compared with 28.04% in the revenue component. Of 122 procurement packages, only 42, or 34.43%, had been completed.
The IMED recommended expediting approvals, launching the farmer smart card and agricultural machinery components, speeding up procurement, holding regular project monitoring meetings and resolving audit objections.
Azad said the project had so far focused on activities such as training farmers, field schools and demonstrations while the card programme awaited approval of the revised allocation.
Around four lakh farmers have received training, mainly on Good Agricultural Practices and safe food production, he said.
The project also aims to promote crop diversification, climate-smart agriculture and improved farming technologies. According to the IMED report, non-rice crop coverage in surveyed areas increased by 56%, equivalent to 1,11,670 hectares.

Economists call for direct financial support
Agricultural economist Dr Jahangir Alam Khan said the farmer card could improve the delivery of assistance if the government established an accurate database and ensured that benefits reached eligible farmers.
However, he cautioned that the card alone would not ease the financial pressure on farmers, whose production costs have risen amid higher fuel and fertiliser prices.
“Higher prices of fuel and fertilisers add to the burden on farmers. They need direct financial support to help meet these costs,” he said.
Khan called for regular cash assistance and stronger public procurement of agricultural produce, including potatoes and onions, to protect farmers from sharp price falls during harvests and ensure fairer prices.

Beyond the card programme
The PARTNER project also seeks to improve agricultural productivity, promote safer food production and strengthen farmers’ resilience to climate change.
Azad said it was working to promote improved rice varieties tolerant to floods, drought and salinity, as well as varieties with higher protein and zinc content. The project also plans to expand Good Agricultural Practices across around three lakh hectares.
The IMED assessment found that 67.99% of surveyed farmers rated the training they received as very good, while 75.53% said they were fully applying the knowledge gained.
___________________________________________
The reporter can be reached at [email protected]