A workshop in Dhaka brought together government, Bangladesh Bank, commercial banks, and microfinance institutions to discuss how rural finance is changing. The Agriculture Secretary signaled a review of how mechanization subsidy rules and agricultural credit policy interact.
The Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) and IFPRI held the workshop “Financing Food Systems in Bangladesh: Evidence and Policy Dialogue” at BIDS in Dhaka on October 12, 2026. Around 55 participants from the government, Bangladesh Bank, commercial banks, and microfinance institutions attended. Md. Salim Khan, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, was Chief Guest.
BIDS Director General Professor A. K. Enamul Haque chaired the workshop, and Dr. Moogdho Mahzab, IFPRI Country Representative for Bangladesh, set out its purpose.
Research presentations
Dr. Kazi Iqbal (BIDS) opened with a paper on how the rural credit market has changed since 2000, using the national Household Income and Expenditure Survey and IFPRI’s Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey rounds. Microfinance institutions now make roughly three in four rural loans, the farm share of lending has fallen, and household debt service has risen.
- Livestock financing: Dr. Kate Ambler, Senior Research Fellow, Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit, presented results from a livestock financing trial.
- Urban food vendors: Dr. Carly Trachtman, Research Fellow, Markets, Trade, and Institutions Unit, presented the design of a loan product with heat-indexed repayment for urban food vendors, to be implemented by Shakti Foundation.
- Agricultural machinery: Dr. Mehrab Bahtiar, Research Fellow, Poverty, Gender, and Inclusion Unit, presented results from a survey of agricultural machinery service providers and the policy asks that follow from it.
Professor Haque then moderated a fifty-minute open dialogue with very active participation.
Closing session
- Md Fazlul Kader, Managing Director, Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), the government’s apex funding body for microfinance institutions, spoke as Guest of Honor.
- Professor Mohammad Helal Uddin, Executive Vice Chairman, Microcredit Regulatory Authority, which licenses and supervises microfinance institutions in Bangladesh, spoke as Special Guest.
- Secretary Salim Khan spoke about the value of evidence for the Ministry and acknowledged IFPRI’s long partnership with the Ministry through the Bangladesh Integrated Household Survey. He said the Ministry plans to examine, with Bangladesh Bank and the Department of Agricultural Extension, how mechanization subsidy rules and agricultural credit policy interact.
Watch the full workshop recording on YouTube.
Remarks of Md. Salim Khan, Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, are also available here.
Here are the presentation copies presented the in the program.
- IFPRI_Presentation by Dr. Kazi_Iqbal
- Bangladesh_BIDS_seminar_WeGro_4 by Dr. Kate_Ambler
- Asset-based Finance for Street Vendors in Dhaka_Dr. Carly_Trachtman
- MSP_agriSME_finance_deck_2026_final_Dr. Mehrab Bakhtiar
If you’d like to learn more about IFPRI’s work in Bangladesh, visit https://bangladesh.ifpri.info or contact Dr. Moogdho Mahzab, Country Representative, IFPRI Bangladesh.
In the Media
English:
- The Daily Star: Debt burden grows for rural poor
- The Business Standard: NGOs now dominate rural lending; agriculture’s share of loans shrinks
- New Age: Loan repayment burden mounts for rural poor
Bangla:
- Prothom Alo: বিআইডিএসের সংলাপ: ১২ বছরে গ্রামীণ ঋণে কৃষির অংশ কমেছে ৯ শতাংশ
- The Daily Star (Bangla): গ্রামের দরিদ্রদের আয় চলে যাচ্ছে ঋণের কিস্তি পরিশোধে: গবেষণা
- Bonik Barta: দেশের ৯৮ শতাংশ কৃষকই ভাড়ায় কৃষি যন্ত্র ব্যবহার করেন, যান্ত্রিকীকরণে মাত্র ২-৭% অর্থায়ন করে ব্যাংক
- bdnews24: কিস্তি দিতেই আয়ের ৪০% চলে যাচ্ছে, চাপে দরিদ্র পরিবার: গবেষণা
- Ajker Patrika: গ্রামীণ ঋণে বাড়ছে কিস্তির চাপ
- Jugantor: বিআইডিএসের গবেষণা: কিস্তি দিতে আয়ের ৪০ শতাংশের বেশি ব্যয়
- Desh Rupantor: কিস্তি দিতেই আয়ের ৭৯% ব্যয় করে দরিদ্র পরিবার
Television:
- Star News: এনজিও ঋণের ফাঁদে অতিদরিদ্র পরিবার