FAO, Bangladesh bolster evidence‑based agricultural investment planning

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC), convened a high‑level workshop on 24 May to validate initial findings from a policy analysis aimed at strengthening evidence‑based investment planning for the agriculture sector.

The initiative — “Technical Support for Sustainable and Resilient Investment towards the Agriculture Sector Transformation Programme of Bangladesh (AsTP)” — is led by the Ministry of Agriculture and funded by the Gates Foundation.

The FAO‑facilitated workshop brought together 35 participants from government ministries, research agencies and development partners to review public‑expenditure analysis, policy options and investment optimisation scenarios under the Monitoring and Analysing Food and Agricultural Policies (MAFAP) programme.

Participants included senior officials and technical experts from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Ministry of Food, Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, Planning Commission, Bangladesh Investment Development Authority, Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, iBAS, BARC, BRRI, BARI, BADC, Department of Agricultural Extension, Department of Agricultural Marketing, and FAO representatives from headquarters and Bangladesh.

The workshop built on work begun during an inception mission and technical meeting in March 2025, when the FAO team introduced the MAFAP analytical framework and initiated collaboration on agricultural public‑expenditure analysis and investment‑optimisation modelling.

Speaking as chief guest, Rafiqul E. Mohamed, secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture, stressed the need for evidence‑based planning and efficient public investment to transform Bangladesh’s agriculture. “As Bangladesh moves toward a more resilient, climate‑smart, diversified, and investment‑oriented agricultural system, stronger policy coherence, strategic public investment, and analytical decision‑making tools will become increasingly important,” he said, noting the value of MAFAP’s technical support for policy formulation and investment prioritisation.

Marco V. Sánchez, deputy director of Agrifood Economics and Policy at FAO, observed that Bangladesh’s agricultural gains face new pressures from climate change, market volatility and resource constraints. “We must use evidence to rethink how we prioritise and design agricultural investments, so that every taka spent and every agricultural policy designed can help Bangladesh to better face these challenges,” he said.

Md. Abdus Salam, executive chairman of BARC, highlighted the importance of institutional collaboration and evidence generation. He urged stronger coordination among research institutions, policymakers, technical agencies and academia to develop region‑specific, climate‑sensitive investment strategies across Bangladesh’s diverse agro‑ecological zones.

The workshop showcased FAO’s Policy Optimization Tool (PolOpT), which uses economic modelling to generate country‑specific spending scenarios and help align agricultural expenditure with development and environmental objectives. Discussions also contributed to drafting six Regional Investment Plans under the Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 climate‑hotspot framework. These plans will identify high‑potential commodities expected to deliver the highest socioeconomic and environmental returns in each climatic zone.

Participants provided technical feedback to refine analytical methods, strengthen institutional coordination and support more efficient, evidence‑based agricultural investment planning. The workshop marked a step toward a country‑owned approach to prioritising public spending and strengthening the analytical foundations of Bangladesh’s agricultural transformation agenda.