While Bangladesh struggles to regulate pesticides, its farmers suffer

Since becoming independent in the 1971, Bangladesh has developed from a country that frequently suffered famine to a modern agricultural nation that can produce enough rice and vegetables to feed its people. But this success comes at a cost: the chemicals that boost yields are harming rural health.

Last year, S. M. Wakiluzzaman at Pirganj Government College found links between pesticide use in Bangladesh and breathing problems, skin diseases, and cancers. Wakiluzzaman has also found unsafe levels of pesticide residues in beans, eggplant, and other common vegetables.

According to an analysis by the PlantwisePlus program of the Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International (CABI), Bangladesh uses an estimated 49,000 metric tons of pesticides annually.

Insecticide application has surged by more than 80% in the past 5 years, according to Wakiluzzaman’s research. But even with higher chemical use, pests till damage crops and harvests remain uncertain. Farmers are spending more money on chemicals while still struggling to protect their fields.

The weight of pesticide pollution

Saleh Ahmed, CABI’s country representative in Bangladesh, says that farming there “relies increasingly on pesticides, especially for vegetables. This raises serious health concerns, yet farmers still see chemicals as the fastest, most reliable way to fight pests.” CABI works with government extension services and other stakeholders to promote integrated pest management and lower-risk options for pest control.

Researchers are looking at how many pesticide ingredients are approved for use in farming. Bangladesh Agricultural University researchers led by Gopal Das analyzed 343 registered pesticide ingredients from products used in the country. They identified 25 pesticides that meet the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations’ definition of highly hazardous but are still registered for use. Ten of these, including paraquat, glyphosate, chlorpyrifos, and carbendazim, are used widely across Bangladesh.

These chemicals have been linked to cancer, kidney failure, heart disease, and reproductive disorders. “Government and [nongovernmental organizations] have trained farmers to use masks and gloves when spraying pesticides,” Das says. But they typically don’t, according to surveys. “Farmers know the health risks, but they are not motivated to change. Awareness exists, action does not,” he says.

And farmers aren’t the only ones at risk. Wakiluzzaman’s research found have found that 40% of fresh vegetables and 25% of rice samples in local markets contain pesticide residues exceeding safety limits set by the World Health Organization.

The hidden health toll

The health effects of pesticide use in Bangladesh are often subtle, building over time and hard to trace to a single cause.

Hospital data offer one of the few clear signals. According to the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital’s Hospital Cancer Registry for 2025, the proportion of cancer patients who are farmers or agricultural workers has risen to nearly 33.8%. That number represents real people, such as Sofi Uddin Matobbor, a 66-year-old farmer from Faridpur now receiving chemotherapy in Dhaka.

“We don’t have a population‑based cancer registry, but hospital records show rising cases” overall, says Habibullah Talukder, a cancer epidemiologist at Gonoshasthaya Community-Based Cancer Hospital, where Matobbor is being treated. “Farmers often come in with lung, kidney, breast, and blood cancers. They spray pesticides without masks or gloves, sometimes barefoot. Protective gear is not available, so exposure is constant, and the health toll is clear.”

And cancer is only part of the picture. A comprehensive review article published in early 2025 concluded that prolonged pesticide exposure leads to acute poisoning, neurological disorders, and hormonal disruptions. About 27% of Bangladeshi farmers experience pesticide-related health issues every year, according to the review.

The damage begins before birth. A birth cohort study published in Environment International found that exposure in rural Bangladesh to the insecticides parathion and diazinon during early pregnancy more than tripled the risk of preterm birth. Women with detectable levels of the diazinon metabolite IMPY were more than twice as likely to have a child with low birth weight. These are not small numbers: in rural Bangladesh, 26% of pregnancies result in preterm birth, while nearly 23% result in low birth weight.

In rural clinics, doctors describe the symptoms of agricultural workers who arrive with conditions ranging from skin irritations to chronic respiratory problems. Sudeep Paul, a doctor at the Koyra Upazila Health Complex, says, “People often come to us with rashes, breathing trouble, or dizziness. When asked about their history, they say they feel this way after working in the crop field. Most never wear masks or any protective gear.”

A law but little enforcement

Bangladesh has a legal framework for pesticide regulation. The Pesticide Act of 2018 is, on paper, one of the most comprehensive in South Asia and mandates registration, licensing, labeling, and safe handling. Bangladesh also has a Pesticide Technical Advisory Committee (PTAC), first set up under the Pesticides Ordinance of 1971 and later carried forward under the Pesticides Act of 2018. The committee is meant toto evaluate risks and recommend bans. But enforcement of legislation is weak.

In 2024, the FAO handed over recommendations to Bangladesh’s Ministry of Agriculture to strengthen its existing pesticide rules relating to registration, labeling, and enforcement. As of mid-2026, however, no final rules have been published.

One move the government has made relates to the financial cost to farmers.

Fertilizer and pesticide distribution in Bangladesh has often been dominated by dealer syndicates and subdealers, which operate with limited oversight. Reporting by The Business Standard, shows that these groups have manipulated supply and pricing, sometimes pressuring farmers to use more chemicals than necessary with promises of higher yields.

Farmers reported financial losses due to these practices, and in 2025, the government introduced a new dealership policy to dismantle syndicates. This policy involves the government buying fertilizer at global prices and selling it to farmers at a heavy discount. Former agriculture adviser Lieutenant General Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury told the local business newspaper the Business Standard that the policy has already saved Tk 2.3 billion ($18.7 million) in public funds.

Illegal and counterfeit pesticides are widely available, labels are often printed only in foreign languages, and inspections of local markets and retail shops by agricultural authorities are rare.A 2025 survey found that 68% of farmers in Bangladesh had used pesticides officially banned in the country, while 93% were unaware of the bans or health risks.

Rafizul Islam Mondal, sector value chain specialist at Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation, a government‑backed financial institution focused on rural development, says, “The government should implement strong monitoring, and pesticide dealers must have general skills in pesticide sales, because often they prescribe the wrong dose and the wrong pesticide to farmers.”

According to agricultural experts and the FAO, what Bangladesh lacks is a comprehensive pesticide policy—not just a law, but enforceable rules on how pesticides are sold, used, and disposed of. Despite more than 50 government meetings to draft and update rules since 2018, no such policy has been adopted.

The government has also acted to support domestic pesticide manufacturing. Last October, the Ministry of Commerce announced duty exemptions on imported raw materials used in pesticide production after lobbying by the Bangladesh Agrochemical Manufacturers Association.

Officials argued this move would reduce dependence on imported finished pesticides, lower costs for farmers, and build a competitive local industry. Industry representatives claimed retail pesticide prices could fall by as much as 30% if raw material imports were duty-free.

However, researchers argue that subsidies and tax breaks for pesticides are being implemented much faster than investments in residue monitoring, farmer training, integrated pest management, or organic alternatives.

This debate is now pushing Bangladesh to consider stronger rules on pesticide use. But supporters of the incentives counter that Bangladesh cannot maintain crop yields and food security without affordable pesticides, especially as climate pressures increase.

In search of safer paths

While researchers are testing ways to cut reliance on pesticides in Bangladesh, results are mixed.

The Bangladesh Resource Center for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK) is a nongovernmental organization that works closely with local communities to promote agroecology and preserve traditional farming practices as a sustainable, chemical-free alternative to industrial agriculture. BARCIK director ABM Touhidul Alam says, “Bangladesh farms rely on chemicals due to economic factors, but indigenous knowledge and agroecology work differently: they focus on soil health first, not just treating plant disease. This traditional system follows the natural calendar, recycles everything—even rice husks—and keeps the ecosystem in balance.”

Outside formal research, small-scale experiments are already underway. In districts like Cumilla and Noakhali, development groups are working with farmers to test organic pest control methods, including botanical pesticides and integrated pest management techniques. These efforts remain localized but offer a glimpse of what lower-chemical farming might look like.

Yet as Meherunnesa Chowdhury Sumy, an agricultural economist at Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Science University, says, “Organic farming yields lower outputs, causing farmers to lose interest. The government must monitor the market and set crop prices to ensure farmers get fair returns.”

The gap between agricultural field trials and what farmers can risk—in terms of yield, cash, and health—is one of the most difficult challenges in moving from research to practice. Solutions may exist, but scaling them depends less on labs and more on policy, markets, and trust in the field.

Researchers have also found unregistered and restricted pesticides in crops, soil, and water and shown that inspections and monitoring are inconsistent. Experts say stronger laws alone will not make food safer unless they are backed by proper surveillance, lab testing, inspections, and enforcement. In Bangladesh, researchers have found that enforcement of pesticide laws and regulations is weak, labs often lack capacity, and there are not enough trained staff to monitor pesticide use. These gaps in monitoring and control make it harder to protect public health.

The challenge is not only legal but structural. Agricultural extension services, which are supposed to guide farmers on safe use, often struggle to reach everyone. A recent assessment of such services in Bangladesh notes that limited training, weak coordination, and a lack of effective outreach continue to affect pesticide management in the field.

Another issue appears at the farm level—lack of sufficient knowledge. Studies on farmer behavior show that while many growers are aware that pesticides can be harmful, safe handling practices are frequently ignored or misunderstood, especially without proper training or support.

This creates a familiar pattern: chemicals are available and rules exist, but safe use depends on systems that are uneven on the ground.

“Despite [pesticide] bans, enforcement [of the Pesticides Act] is weak,” Touhidul says. “Pesticides restricted elsewhere still reach our fields, often smuggled in. On the ground, shopkeepers sell chemical mixes making cocktails to farmers who lack the knowledge or lab access to understand what they’re using.”

Even if Bangladesh implements new laws, experts say those laws may have limited impact without sustained investment in pesticide education, monitoring, and local enforcement.

Zakir Hossain Chowdhury is a freelance visual journalist and writer based in Bangladesh