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Published : 14 Apr 2026, 11:59 AM
Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has launched the government’s “Farmer Card” programme by sending Tk 2,500 each to 22,065 landless, marginal and small-scale farmers in 11 Upazilas.
On Pahela Baishakh, he inaugurated the scheme from Shaheed Maruf Stadium in Tangail at 12:15pm on Tuesday by pressing a button on a laptop, triggering the cash transfer to the beneficiaries through mobile banking.
The launch marks another step in the BNP government’s efforts to fulfil its election pledges. It has already rolled out the Family Card, Sports Card and canal excavation programmes.
At the event, the prime minister handed over Farmer Cards and saplings to 15 farmers. They are Abu Kaiser, Roman, Shahnur Alam, Shah Alam, Julekha Akhtar, Nasima Khanam Sumona, Shilpi, Amena Begum, Nawab Ali, Mohammad Ali, Kabir Hossain, Monowara Akhtar, Shamima Akhtar, Laila Begum and Tahmina.
Earlier, Tarique entered the stadium at 11:20am and waved to the gathered farmers after taking the stage. The proceedings then began with recitations from the Holy Quran, the Gita, the Bible and the Tripitaka.
At the inauguration ceremony, one male farmer and one female farmer shared their reactions to receiving the card and thanked the prime minister.
Among those who addressed the event were the prime minister’s Political Advisor Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, Agriculture Minister Amin Ur Rashid, State Minister for Fisheries and Livestock Sultan Salauddin Tuku, and FAO Representative in Bangladesh Jiaokun Shi.
Amin said the programme was being launched in a pre-pilot phase in 11 Upazilas, with 22,065 landless and marginal farmers receiving the cards in the first stage.
He said cardholders would receive Tk 2,500 a year in cash support.
Pre-pilot activities also began on the same day in nine other Upazilas: Komolapur in Panchagarh Sadar, Uthli in Bogura’s Shibganj, Kripalpur in Jhinaidah’s Shailkupa, Rajabari in Pirojpur’s Nesarabad, Rajarchhara in Cox’s Bazar’s Teknaf, Tenapcha in Rajbari’s Goalanda, Phultala in Moulvibazar’s Juri, Panchapi in Panchagarh’s Boda, and Gaibandha in Jamalpur’s Islampur.
The cards will be distributed in Aranyapur of Cumilla Adarsha Sadar on Apr 17.
The government is spending Tk 83.4 million on the pre-pilot phase, according to the agriculture minister.
After that stage is completed, pilot programmes will be carried out in 15 Upazilas, Amin said.
Drawing on the pilot experience, the government plans to gradually distribute the cards across the country and build a nationwide database over the next four years, he added.
He said the programme would eventually cover all farmers, though only landless, marginal and smallholder farmers would be eligible for the financial support.
The Farmer Card is effectively a banking debit card. Accounts have been opened in the names of eligible farmers at local branches of Sonali Bank, and the cards have been issued against those accounts.
Through the card, farmers will be entitled to 10 types of benefits, including agricultural inputs at fair prices, irrigation services at fair prices, farm loans on easy terms, low-cost agricultural machinery, government subsidies and incentives, weather forecasts and market information on mobile phones, agricultural training, advice on crop diseases and pests, agricultural insurance, and the opportunity to sell farm produce at fair prices.
Using the card, farmers will also be able to buy fertiliser, seeds, fish feed, livestock feed and other agricultural inputs through the relevant dealer’s point-of-sale (POS) machine.
