Chemical fertilisers and pesticides raise costs and threaten coastal farming in Bangladesh

In Shyamnagar, farmers face mounting debts, declining soil fertility and biodiversity loss, while local initiatives promote indigenous seeds, natural fertilisers and chemical-free cultivation.

In the vast agricultural tracts of Shyamnagar Upazila in Satkhira, a coastal area in southern Bangladesh adjacent to the Sundarbans, decades of shrimp farming involving the pumping of saline river water onto croplands have increased soil salinity to such an extent that cultivating crops using fresh water is no longer possible, even if farmers wish to do so. Nevertheless, local farmers have been attempting to grow freshwater crops on their land over the past decade.

That is why they are now cultivating paddy on their agricultural land more than once a year. At the same time, they are collecting lost seed varieties and cultivating various local varieties of vegetables and crops. Farmers are now facing various challenges in growing crops on their land.

Rising production costs for farmers and health risks for people:

The use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in local agriculture is harming both the environment and human health while simultaneously driving up costs for farmers. Due to soil salinity, local farmers are compelled to use these chemicals in large quantities. Consequently, the land is losing its fertility and farmers are forced to rely heavily on chemical inputs to produce paddy and other crops. Failure to apply these substances at the right time results in reduced yields.

Farmers are compelled to use chemical fertilisers and pesticides to meet production targets. By using these chemicals, they obtain nearly five times the yield compared with cultivating paddy on a bigha of land using only natural fertilisers. Consequently, farmers are forced to rely on chemical fertilisers and pesticides. However, the excessive use of these inputs is depleting soil fertility and driving up production costs, leading to various adverse consequences. Farmers produce nearly twice as much as they would using natural fertilisers alone. However, there is a ray of hope: local farmers in Shyamnagar Upazila are gradually being encouraged to adopt natural fertilisers and organic pesticides with assistance from BARCIK, a non-governmental research organisation.

Dependence on loans:

Farmers are falling into debt by using excessive fertilisers and pesticides to meet their production targets, primarily because they lack sufficient financial self-reliance. They often do not have the necessary funds available during the cultivation period. If they cannot apply fertilisers and pesticides on time after sowing seeds, they risk a poor harvest. Consequently, farmers are compelled to borrow money to purchase these inputs, obtaining loans during the season from seed companies, local fertiliser dealers, pesticide traders, moneylenders and microfinance institutions. However, they have to pay instalments throughout the year to repay these loans. In most small-scale farming families, female members obtain loans from microfinance institutions. At times, they are also compelled to borrow from local moneylenders at high interest rates.

Environmental degradation:

The prolonged use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in the region’s agriculture has adversely affected the environment. Fruit trees such as mango, jamun, lemon, coconut, sapodilla and wax apple are no longer commonly seen in the area. In the past, every household had various fruit trees. Trees were planted for domestic use, providing timber for constructing houses and making furniture. Such trees can no longer be found today.

In the few places where coconut, wood apple, palmyra palm or jackfruit trees still remain, they no longer bear fruit as they once did. These local varieties are on the verge of extinction due to the effects of saline water and pesticides. In the past, the presence of diverse fruit trees provided habitats for birds to nest and thrive in the area. Now, the very existence of these birds, along with various local flora and fauna, is under threat. Due to the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture, creatures such as snails, frogs, snakes and fireflies, as well as various bird species, have almost disappeared from the area. Many species have been lost completely.

Impact of corporate companies:

Coastal farmers have become captive to corporate companies. Although they had long managed to sustain farming despite various other challenges, they are now unable to carry out agricultural activities outside the scope of these corporate entities. They no longer have control over their seeds. Due to soil salinity in the region, cultivating local seed varieties is no longer feasible. Consequently, farmers are compelled to purchase seeds from corporate companies, and cultivating these seeds necessitates the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

Otherwise, crops cannot be produced on the land. Farmers are forced to purchase seeds every year, whereas in the past, they used to save seeds at home from crops harvested on their own land and could even exchange seeds with one another. Coastal farmers find themselves unable to break free from the grip of corporate companies to carry out their agricultural activities because they lack seeds, sufficient natural fertilisers and pesticides and substantial capital.

To survive and preserve their livelihoods, farmers in this region are being compelled to abandon the knowledge of their ancestors and advance agriculture while remaining captive to corporate companies.

Rising health risks:

The continuous use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides in agriculture across this region is causing various health issues linked to the vegetables and crops produced. Women and children are particularly susceptible to these ailments. The combination of high-yielding vegetable and paddy varieties and soil salinity is constantly exacerbating health risks for the local population.

Various studies have shown that women in this area suffer from a range of ailments, including uterine cancer, impaired vision, reproductive health issues, heart problems and frequent colds and fevers, which are attributed to the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides on farmland.

A structural crisis at the highest level:

The struggle for survival faced by coastal communities fails to gain traction among the state, political circles and the upper echelons of society. Farmers in this region have never held political significance. The agricultural challenges faced here differ vastly from those in other parts of the country, yet the state structure lacks a dedicated unit to address the specific needs of farmers in this area. For a long time, these farmers have been campaigning for the establishment of a separate ministry or directorate to cater to the agricultural needs of this disaster-prone region.

However, no government has yet taken any significant measures to safeguard farmers’ livelihoods and the very existence of coastal communities. Consequently, they have remained deprived.

Amid such adversity, some farmers have shared a message of hope. On-site discussions were held with farmers Tumpa Rani Mondal, Kalpana Rani Mistri and Jogesh Chandra Mondal. During extensive conversations at their farms, they explained how a local non-governmental research organisation is providing technical support for cultivating chemical-free vegetables and paddy, as well as producing fruits and other crops.

BARCIK, a non-governmental research organisation, has long been working in Shyamnagar Upazila to safeguard farmers’ livelihoods and the region’s agriculture. As part of this ongoing effort, we spoke with Tumpa Rani Mondal, a successful farmer and member of the BARCIK-organised ‘Shatobari’ initiative, at her 10-katha agricultural farm. In Kultali village of Munshiganj Union, Tumpa Rani cultivates her land using natural fertilisers and pesticides with BARCIK’s support.

She recalls seeing her parents working in the fields, noting that back then, they did not need to purchase and apply vast quantities of fertilisers and pesticides. Her father, uncles, grandfather and ancestors used to cultivate the land by simply collecting household waste, vegetable scraps and ash and spreading this mixture on the fields once a year. Nowadays, however, seeds, fertilisers and pesticides must be purchased from companies. Company representatives often visit farmers’ homes to provide samples of new seed varieties, fertilisers and pesticides. Nevertheless, with BARCIK’s support, she has begun collecting and preserving local seed varieties herself. She has also started using natural fertilisers, pesticides and insect traps to cultivate paddy and other crops on her own land and leased land.

Regarding the use of natural fertilisers and organic pesticides, farmer Tumpa Rani Mondal states that she cultivates vegetables and paddy with BARCIK’s support, employing these natural inputs. This practice has led to the formation of a buyer group that regularly contacts her to purchase produce grown using natural fertilisers and pesticides. Consequently, her vegetables and paddy are sold quickly.

We spoke with Jogesh Chandra Mondal, a farmer from Jelekhali village in Munshiganj Union, Shyamnagar Upazila, about modern agriculture. He noted that agriculture has undergone significant changes in recent times. Corporate companies regularly engage with marginal farmers, bringing new seeds, fertilisers and pesticides to local markets and neighbourhoods. Every year, they provide farmers with new varieties of hybrid vegetable and paddy seeds, sometimes for free and at other times at a nominal cost, to introduce them to these varieties.

After cultivating these new varieties, farmers find themselves compelled to source seeds, fertilisers and pesticides from the companies’ dealers the following year, driven by the prospect of higher profits. This is because the yields from these varieties are higher, whereas indigenous and local varieties of rice and vegetables produce lower yields. Farmers are effectively forced to work with these companies. In the past, their forefathers used to preserve seeds from local varieties for sowing the following year. They cultivated crops using natural fertilisers collected at home, such as ash, vegetable scraps, decomposed leaves and dried cow dung.

However, prolonged exposure to saline water has led to a decline in vegetation in the area. In some places, there is virtually no vegetation left.

Jogesh Chandra Mondal further added that, like him, many other farmers are seeing a ray of hope for the future through their association with BARCIK. They have begun cultivating local seed varieties on a small scale, using natural fertilisers and pesticides.

Kalpana Rani Mistri, a farmer from Dhumghat village in Ishwaripur Union, has been associated with BARCIK for the past several years. With BARCIK’s support, she has organised several groups of female farmers in the area. For nearly a decade, members of these groups have been conserving and exchanging various seeds, including those of local varieties of rice, vegetables, fruits and flowers. Currently, Kalpana Rani Mistri maintains a collection of more than 400 different varieties of local seeds.

She distributes and exchanges seeds among local farmers. The number of seed varieties she preserves is constantly increasing.

Agriculturist Iqbal Ahmed, acting deputy director of the Satkhira District Department of Agricultural Extension (Khamarbari), stated that the Department of Agricultural Extension has undertaken various programmes to cultivate crops, vegetables and paddy on saline land in Shyamnagar Upazila, a coastal area adjacent to the Sundarbans.

These initiatives include expanding salt-tolerant crop varieties; increasing the use of organic fertilisers and plastic mulching; expanding ginger and vegetable cultivation in sacks; excavating mini-ponds; implementing drip irrigation; cultivating off-season watermelons and vegetables on the embankments of fish enclosures; promoting zero-tillage cultivation of mustard, grass pea (khesari) and maize; growing vegetables as companion crops, such as lentils and chickpeas with sugarcane or short-duration vegetables; increasing the cultivation of dhaincha (Sesbania) as green manure; vegetable farming using the tower method; adopting the Sorjan technique; cultivating leafy greens and vegetables using the bed-and-furrow method; and growing salt-tolerant crops and fruits such as sunflowers, wood apples (kodbel), sapodillas (sofeda), tamarinds, coconuts and Indian gooseberries (amla).