Rising oil prices driven by global conflict and worsening climate extremes are squeezing Bangladeshi farmers, exposing deep inequalities and linking distant geopolitics to everyday struggles over food, fuel and survival.
In the early morning in Rajshahi, Bangladesh, as Rahim Mia stands at the edge of his paddy field with a plough resting on his shoulder, his gaze is not fixed on the sky. It is fixed on the emptiness in his pocket, where worry speaks louder than any sign of weather. Today, the patterns of clouds no longer guide him. What matters now are the fuel receipts stacked in a drawer back home. He may not know about the ships clashing in the Strait of Hormuz, but he feels their impact every time the price of diesel rises. With each increase, his debts grow heavier, pressing down on him like the still air before a monsoon storm. His son’s schoolbooks gather dust, untouched, his hopes tied not to the promise of rain but to the burden of unpaid bills. As fuel prices climb, Rahim Mia feels the strain deep in his bones. Markets become unstable and prices unpredictable. His plate remains empty, though he did nothing to deserve such hardship. He may not understand war, but war, in all its consequences, understands him all too well.
The Politics of Oil Echoes Far While Hunger Bites Near
The recent conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States has sent shockwaves through global oil trading. Each flare-up pushes prices higher. That spike spills far beyond financial hubs, hitting farmland in countries such as Bangladesh hard. Diesel powers much of the work farmers do here. Fuel runs irrigation pumps, tractors depend on it, and moving harvests to buyers relies entirely on its availability. Prices climb with oil spikes, pushing farming expenses higher without delay. Still, when someone such as Rahim Mia sells his rice, what he earns often stays flat despite swelling costs. The imbalance cuts deep. Decisions made in distant capitals echo loudest where voices carry least. Profits gather far away, though hardship lands squarely on small growers across the country.
Out of nowhere, the weather, too, has started acting strange. War is not the only force unsettling farming now. Seasons shift without warning. Rain does not come when needed, and when it does, it often arrives as floods that destroy crops just before harvest. Droughts, sudden floods and salinity intrusion are making agriculture increasingly uncertain. The people hit hardest by climate change often pollute the least: villagers living near rivers, families on fragile riverbanks and women tending crops under a fierce sun. Yet the nations emitting the most remain locked in battles over power, wealth and weapons. The damage goes beyond storms or heat. Power shapes who drowns, who starves and who gets heard.
Climate Justice: Responsibility and Consequence
Bangladesh is one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, despite having played almost no role in creating the problem. The country contributes only a small share of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it remains among the countries most at risk in global climate assessments. This raises a fundamental question: Why should those who did not cause the crisis bear its consequences? Powerful nations continue to invest billions in military expansion, while commitments to climate adaptation and agricultural resilience remain insufficient. The emissions generated through war and excessive fossil fuel consumption translate into rising seas, extreme weather and degraded land in places such as Bangladesh. When fields in Satkhira turn saline and crops fail, it is not just a local issue. It is the outcome of global political choices. Power flows through oil as much as energy does. Around this black liquid, world decisions tilt. It fuels engines, yes, but it also deepens the Earth’s fever. When factories produce farm chemicals, they burn power drawn from the same source. Each barrel shapes more than roads. It bends seasons. Farmers remain caught in a loop not of their making as long as that dependence persists. War and power struggles stretch beyond borders, quietly rewriting meals, markets and life itself.
Conclusion: Justice Must Be the Language of Resistance
Bangladesh now faces a dual challenge: building climate-resilient agriculture while demanding justice at the global level. We need farming systems that rely less on fossil fuels and more on local knowledge and sustainability. At the same time, we must speak more forcefully on the global stage. Climate change is not only an environmental issue. It is a question of justice.
Rahim Mia may not understand geopolitics. He understands soil, seeds and survival. But when that relationship is broken, the foundation of civilisation itself is at risk.
Because in the end,
food is power, not weapons.
