Women constitute 58 per cent of Bangladesh's agricultural workforce, making them the majority contributors to national food production. Yet they continue to face systemic discrimination, limited access to resources, and a lack of official recognition - challenges that threaten both their rights and the country's food security.
These concerns were raised on Thursday at a national-level seminar titled "Inclusion of Women Farmers in Climate-Resilient Crop Production and the Role of Policymakers", organised in the capital by AVAS, BINDU, COAST Foundation, and Street Child UK, with support from the Gates Foundation.
Rezaul Karim Chowdhury, Executive Director of COAST Foundation, moderated the event while Md Iqbal Uddin of COAST Foundation presented the keynote paper.
Speakers said that although women dominate the agricultural workforce, only 19 per cent of female farmers have land ownership, and just 4-5 per cent can actually exercise those rights. Limited access to mechanisation, agricultural cards, government facilities, and financial services puts women far behind their male counterparts.
Without official recognition, women farmers remain invisible and deprived of their rights despite being central to the country's food security, the speakers noted.
In the keynote, Md Iqbal Uddin highlighted that nearly one-third of Bangladesh's population lives in coastal regions severely affected by salinity, cyclones, and waterlogging. He said coastal women farmers continue to produce climate-resilient crops but remain "excluded from government support systems," stressing that their inclusion is crucial.
Dr Md Hazrat Ali, Director (Crops Wing) of the DAE, said coastal women farmers work tirelessly in climate-tolerant crop production but are often paid half the wage of men. He added that many women are denied agricultural loans due to lack of land ownership - a discrimination that "must be eliminated."
Additional DAE Director Dr Md Jamal Uddin stressed the need to organise women farmers into groups to collectively claim their rights. Former DAE Deputy Director Dr Radheshyam Sarkar urged policymakers to ensure gender equality across the agricultural sector.
