The Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) has launched its Tree Planting Program 2026, aiming to plant 750,000 saplings over the next five years as part of the government’s pledge to plant 250 million trees nationwide. The programme was inaugurated on Thursday at BARI’s headquarters, with the institute saying the initiative will support climate adaptation while enhancing agricultural productivity and creating opportunities in carbon trading.
The programme was formally inaugurated by BARI Director General Agriculturist Dr Md Manjurul Kadir under this year’s theme, “Fighting Climate Change: Let Adaptation Be the Greatest Success of Agricultural Scientists.” BARI said in a press release that it plans to produce, collect, distribute, plant and maintain about 133,000 saplings of fruit, spice, medicinal and ornamental species during the first year.
Rather than focusing on a single species, the programme began with the planting of a diverse range of saplings selected for their ecological value and aesthetic appeal, including spices, medicinal plants and fruit-bearing trees.
Addressing the inauguration, Dr Md Manjurul Kadir described the government’s tree planting initiative as a forward-looking environmental programme. He said expanding tree cover would both generate carbon credits and create habitats for bees, enabling farmers to earn additional income through honey and beeswax production.
He said a wider variety of flowering and fruit-bearing trees would strengthen ecosystems for bees, which play a vital role in pollinating crops. Since around one-third of the world’s agricultural production, particularly fruits, vegetables, spices and oilseeds, depends on bee pollination, increasing tree cover could naturally expand bee populations and indirectly raise crop yields by 20% or more.
Dr Md Masudul Haque Jhontu, Principal Scientific Officer at the Regional Spices Research Center in Gazipur and organiser of the event, said global climate change remained the foremost challenge facing agriculture.
“We are currently facing a cluster of interconnected challenges, with global climate change at the forefront. Tackling these impacts and adapting to them is the primary goal of agricultural scientists today,” he said.
Jhontu said the government’s sustainable tree planting programme would capture atmospheric carbon, helping secure carbon credits while restoring habitats for bees and birds. He said the initiative could generate foreign exchange through international carbon trading while improved pollination was projected to increase domestic yields of rice, mustard, sunflower, pulses, fruits, vegetables and spice and onion seeds by between 20% and 40%.
He added that the pace and scale of climate change had reached a point where conventional approaches alone were insufficient. Integrating traditional agricultural science with artificial intelligence and data-driven technologies, alongside government initiatives, would be necessary to address future challenges, he said.
Among those attending the inauguration were Dr Reshma Sultana, Director of the Training & Communication Wing; Dr Faruk Ahmed, Director of the Research Wing; Dr Kausar Uddin Ahmed, Director of the Horticulture Research Center; Dr Nirmal Kumar Dutta, Director of the Tuber Crops Research Center; Dr Habib Mohammad Naser, Director of the Planning & Evaluation Wing; and Dr Md Mosharraf Hossain Molla, Director of the Support & Services Wing. Divisional and centre heads, Chief Scientific Officers, Principal Scientific Officers, Senior Scientific Officers and other institute staff were also present.
Under the five-year programme, BARI plans to plant the 750,000 saplings in phases across its six main centres, regional stations, sub-centres and adjoining areas nationwide.
