Sukanta Halder

Farmers in at least five villages under Kurigram’s Bhurungamari upazila say they are living in fear of arrest and harassment after a case was filed over a protest demanding adequate fertiliser earlier this month that left the upazila agriculture officer briefly confined by an agitated crowd.

The Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA) will take stricter measures against non-complying distressed insurance companies, its chairman has said.

Higher import costs are likely to be passed on to consumers

A total of Tk 37.54 crore in insurance claims has been paid to 8,417 policyholders of seven troubled life insurers in two phases under an initiative of the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA).

For Rasel Hossain, this year’s Aus harvest should have been a source of relief. Instead, the farmer from Uttargram village in Naogaon’s Mohadevpur upazila is counting his losses.

A crude oil tanker of Bangladesh Shipping Corporation (BSC), MT Ninemia, arrived at Chattogram port from Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

Alleged collusion among dealers and retailers to hike fertiliser prices by “creating an artificial shortage” through hoarding and supply control is causing discontent among farmers, according to a report prepared by the Special Branch of the police.

Bangladesh has enough fertiliser, the government says. Dealers say they have stocks. Yet farmers in several districts say authorised dealers are refusing to sell or capping them at one sack, forcing many to buy from unauthorised sellers at inflated prices.

Years of overfishing, destructive fishing practices and damage to marine habitats are depleting Bangladesh’s fish stocks, with catches of hilsa and other marine species falling sharply.

Once an import-dependent drink, coffee is taking root in Bangladesh’s hills and plains

Bangladesh could see lower Boro rice production in the coming season as climatologists warn of an exceptionally strong El Niño, which typically brings hotter and drier conditions during the crop’s growing period.

Around 10 lakh agricultural households in Bangladesh, representing nearly 50 lakh people, are projected to need emergency agricultural assistance between June and November 2026, according to the recent report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Production suffers, cooking at home stalls, power generation plummets

Bangladesh’s insurance sector saw growth in premiums, assets, investments and policies in 2025, driven by improved political and economic stability, the end of agent commissions, higher premium rates and increased returns on fixed-income assets.

For farmers racing against the crop calendar, fertiliser is becoming a source of anxiety.

By most measures, Bangladesh is one of the planet’s great fish-producing nations. It ranks second in the world for fish caught in rivers, lakes and wetlands, and fifth for farmed fish production, according to a June 2026 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Bangladesh’s gas supply situation has improved from the severe shortages seen last week, but industries are yet to see a meaningful recovery as a larger share of the limited supply is now being diverted to power plants.

The gas crisis, which is in its fourth week, took a turn for the worse after Summit’s floating LNG terminal ran out of gas around 5:00pm yesterday.

A recent study, titled “No escaping the heat: Health and economic impacts of heat stress on informal workers in urban Bangladesh”, found that workers exposed to extreme heat outdoors lose an average of 23.7 working days a year.

Smokers increasingly switch to cheaper brands