Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has directed the authorities concerned to prepare a complete, accurate, and transparent list of the country’s farmers by December.
He issued these instructions during a review meeting regarding the farmer card initiative held at his office in the Cabinet Division of the Secretariat on Tuesday afternoon, August 4.
According to the Prime Minister’s Deputy Press Secretary, Hasan Shiplu, the registry must be finalised through a rigorous verification process to ensure transparency and precision.
During the meeting, the prime minister stated that the farmer cards will feature photographs and QR codes, serving as a digital identity that stores vital information regarding agricultural production, government assistance, and market-related data.
He further instructed officials to ensure all relevant factors are considered during the preparation of these cards.
The meeting was informed that the process of opening bank accounts for farmers has already commenced. Once the necessary preparations are finalised, the farmer cards will be distributed in phases.
This initiative follows a pre-pilot launch on 14 April at Shaheed Maruf Stadium in Tangail, which covered 11 upazilas across 10 districts. On that occasion, 22,065 marginal farmers received financial assistance of 2,500 taka each directly through mobile wallets.
The government stated that the farmer card programme is a key component of the BNP’s election pledges, aimed at ensuring that agricultural subsidies, low-interest loans, incentives, and other state benefits reach genuine farmers swiftly and easily.
It was further revealed that 4.3 million farmers are expected to be covered under this scheme within the current fiscal year, with a long-term plan to include approximately 20 million farmers over the next three years.
The review meeting was attended by Amin ur Rashid, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock; Sultan Salauddin Tuku, State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock; and Mir Shahe Alam, State Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Co-operatives.
Also in attendance were Mahdi Amin, adviser to the Prime Minister; ABM Abdus Sattar, principal secretary to the prime minister; Shakirul Islam Khan, special assistant to the Prime Minister; and Belayet Hossain, special secretary of the BNP.
Other participants included SM Amir Hamza Shatil, president of the Bangladesh Milk Producers’ Co-operative Union Limited (Milk Vita), as well as secretaries and senior officials from the relevant ministries and departments.
