The disclosure that the average earning of the small-scale food producers, who constitute more than half of Bangladesh's food-producing households, is less than half of the national average income is disquieting. Notably, the national average income is slightly over Tk78,000 annually. Worse yet, as revealed by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS)'s 'Survey on Income and Productivity of Small-Scale Food Producers 2025', the small food producers' annual income is only about a quarter of what large-scale producers earn. Covering 12,879 households nationwide, the survey examined crops, forestry, livestock and aquaculture. Evidently, those constituting the larger share of the country's food producers are placed at the lower end of the agricultural income ladder. The disparity is also reflected in labour productivity, as small producers generate close to Tk1,500 per labour-day, whereas their larger peers produce just over Tk2,300 per day. This is an anomaly since small farmers remain indispensable to food production and rural employment.
True, the difference in income cannot be explained by exploitation alone. Smallholders cultivate a small piece of land which is less than one-third of the size of the land their larger counterparts operate. Also consider the meagre investable surplus they can manage. Obviously, they cannot adopt modern machinery, improved seeds, irrigation technology or better livestock practices. Even so, farm size is not the sole determinant of efficiency. Small farmers reportedly outperformed their larger counterparts in permanent crops, and also did better in forestry. This proves that given the right crop, knowledge, inputs and market conditions, small-scale producers can use their limited resources efficiently. Notably, livestock accounts for the overwhelming share of their agricultural income, indicating the importance of household-based animal and poultry farming for employment and family nutrition. So, the government policy should not treat smallholders as marginal participants requiring occasional assistance. Rather, they should be recognised as indispensable actors in the country's food-security strategy.
What is of concern here is that farmers rarely receive a fair share of the prices paid by consumers. Between the farm gate and the retail market stand layers of traders, transport operators, commission agents and, in cases, market syndicates and extortionists who raise prices without adding proportionate value. The result is the familiar paradox in which consumers pay through their noses for essentials while growers sell their produce at throwaway prices. Unless this defective marketing chain is corrected, increasing production alone will not raise farm income. The department of agricultural marketing, extension services and local administrations should develop real-time information on production, demand and prices, expand access to storage, collection centres and transportation, and strengthen producer cooperatives so farmers may bargain collectively. Digital marketplaces and direct purchase arrangements involving public agencies, processors and retailers could reduce dependence on middlemen. At the same time, affordable credit and crop insurance should be available so that a failed harvest or price collapse does not push small farmers permanently out of agriculture.
The danger of allowing the present income disparity to continue should not be underestimated. Farmers, especially younger family members, will understandably move to occupations offering better and more predictable returns. Those unable to find work near their villages will migrate to Dhaka and other urban centres, adding pressure on housing, transport, sanitation and public services, while agriculture will gradually lose its skilled workforce. Against this backdrop, the government needs to introduce technology suited to small farms, train producers in its use and promote value addition through processing, grading and packaging. With the UN Sustainable Development Goal Target 2.3 requiring the doubling of small-scale producers' productivity and income by 2030, the BBS findings should serve as a baseline for effective action with due urgency. In fine, protecting small farmers is not merely a matter of rural welfare. It is central to food security, balanced urbanisation and the sustainability of the national economy. The government must ensure fair prices, productive technology and an accountable agricultural market so that those who feed the nation can themselves earn a dignified living.
