Farmers’ Livelihood at Risk in Dinajpur
Khademul Islam, Dinajpur, Bangladesh, Dec 24, 2025:
Winter vegetable farmers in Dinajpur are facing a deepening crisis as powerful market syndicates control prices while excessive pesticide use threatens both crops and public health, investigations have found.
At the centre of the market-related allegations is NM Bahadur Market, one of northern Bangladesh’s largest raw vegetable trading hubs. Farmers bringing produce to the market reportedly cannot sell directly to buyers and are instead forced to go through a fixed group of intermediaries.
Several farmers alleged that attempts to sell outside this informal system result in intimidation, psychological pressure, and social harassment. According to them, prices are predetermined by syndicate members rather than being set by supply, demand, or produce quality.
Investigations also revealed tactics aimed at manipulating prices through misinformation. Traders linked to the syndicate allegedly spread rumours claiming that farmers have suffered massive losses and vegetables have little value, despite steady production.
Farmers are forced to sell vegetables at extremely low prices, while the same produce later appears in retail markets at significantly higher rates, raising concerns over artificial price inflation.
Alongside market manipulation, farmers are also battling what they describe as an unethical pesticide network operating at field level. With increased winter fog and cold weather, vegetable crops have been affected by pests and diseases.
Multiple farmers complained that when they seek guidance from local agricultural offices, they are frequently directed toward specific pesticide dealers. These dealers, along with agrochemical company representatives, often recommend repeated and excessive pesticide use.
In many cases, diseases are vaguely identified as “viral” without laboratory testing or proper diagnosis, farmers said. As a result, production costs rise sharply while soil quality deteriorates and environmental and health risks increase.
Field investigations show that repeated pesticide application often fails to cure crop diseases. Instead, it damages soil fertility and destroys beneficial insects, further weakening long-term agricultural sustainability.
“In trying to save our crops, we are destroying ourselves,” one farmer said, expressing concern over mounting debts and health hazards.
Responding to the allegations, Abu Zafar Md. Sadeq, Additional Deputy Director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Dinajpur, said farmers are being encouraged to adopt organic pest management practices and that monitoring at field level is ongoing.
However, he noted that ensuring fair prices in markets falls under the jurisdiction of the local administration and consumer rights authorities.
This season, winter vegetables have been cultivated on nearly 15,000 hectares across Dinajpur’s 13 upazilas, with a production target of around 300,000 metric tons. Despite higher output, farmers say their incomes continue to decline.
From field to marketplace, growers remain trapped between syndicate-controlled pricing and rising production costs.
As vegetables continue to fill the fields but fail to secure fair returns, farmers ask when accountability will be enforced—and when their livelihoods will finally be freed from the grip of syndicates.
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