Rising soil salinity caused by climate change and the pressure to boost yields on limited farmland have driven many farmers to adopt hybrid seeds from foreign companies. While these seeds provide higher yields in the short term, farmers are facing long-term consequences — including the gradual disappearance of indigenous crop varieties.
The costs of cultivating hybrid crops are also pushing farmers deeper into debt, while raising risks to the environment and food security.
Alpana Rani, a 45-year-old farmer from Dhum Nagar village in Satkhira’s coastal Shyamnagar upazila, has been involved in farming since childhood, first alongside her father and later after marriage. But years of pesticide use left her with poor eyesight. That experience led her to return to local seeds in 2012.
“With local seeds, I hardly need to spray pesticides, and organic fertilisers are enough to ensure good yields,” she said. “The rice tastes better too and is far more nutritious.”
This season, Alpana has planted local aman rice on seven bighas of land, hoping to harvest around 100 maunds of paddy. She has also cultivated ridge gourd on two bighas and plans to plant beans and bottle gourd in the winter season. She preserves several local rice varieties along with seeds of 15 varieties of beans and gourds.
In contrast, farmer Dilip Kumar from Chandipur village in the same upazila has opted for hybrid seeds, seeking higher yields from smaller plots. He has planted BRRI-bred Bina-8 rice on two bighas and expects to harvest around 40 maunds by November.
“Local rice yields too little to cover household expenses, so we are forced to grow hybrids,” he said. “But we have to spray pesticides repeatedly.”
Although hybrid cultivation delivers higher yields, it requires frequent pesticide spraying — killing not only harmful pests but also beneficial insects, damaging the environment and local ecology.
In Haybatpur village, 75-year-old farmer Sirajul Islam still places his trust in indigenous rice. Sitting down for lunch, he proudly points out that his rice is cooked from local varieties.
He currently preserves 167 varieties of rice seeds, including Darshail, Patnai, Ghunsi, and Durgabhog — many of which are no longer available in markets. Farmers like him save seeds themselves and share them through traditional exchange systems.
“Although the yield from local rice is slightly lower, no pesticides are needed. It keeps us healthy and maintains soil fertility,” Sirajul said.
Hybrid Seeds Pushing Farmers into Debt
According to a 2024 report by the Centre for Policy Research and Development (CPRD), indigenous rice varieties in climate-vulnerable regions are both salt-tolerant and resilient. However, the lack of proper conservation has left farmers dependent on hybrid seeds, driving them into debt traps. While hybrid seeds boost yields, they cannot be reused, forcing farmers to purchase new seeds each season. Moreover, hybrids require more fertiliser and pesticides, and even small disasters can wipe out entire crops — further increasing debt burdens and dependence on corporate suppliers.
Multinational brands such as Syngenta, Monsanto, BASF, Bayer Crop Science, and Seed have already entered the market. Yet none of these seed packets display approval seals or quality certifications from the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), putting farmers at risk as hybrid seeds are imported without proper verification.
Bangladesh’s Seed Act 2018 regulates seed marketing and distribution. It mandates approval from the National Seed Board and BSTI before any seed can be sold or distributed. Packets must display details including the producer or importer’s name, production year, expiry date, germination rate, processing information, and quality control seal. Violation of the law can result in fines, licence cancellation, or imprisonment.
In practice, however, many foreign seed companies bypass these rules. Their packets often lack required information and enter the market without approval. This leaves farmers vulnerable to buying low-quality or poor-germination seeds, increasing the prevalence of adulterated and substandard products — a direct breach of the Seed Act 2018.
Farmers often take out bank loans to buy hybrid seeds — not just for purchasing seeds but also to cover the added cost of pesticides and fertiliser. This increases financial pressure, lowers living standards, and heightens vulnerability to climate risks and crop losses, said Mananjoy Mondal, Shyamnagar upazila manager for the research organisation Bangladesh Resource Centre for Indigenous Knowledge (BARCIK).
He said that conserving and using local seeds would reduce farmers’ debt burdens. Indigenous rice varieties that are both salt-tolerant and drought-resistant can be cultivated at low cost. He also stressed the need to support the preservation of local seeds and to ensure their access to the market.
He said that conserving and using local seeds would reduce farmers’ debt burdens. Indigenous rice varieties that are both salt-tolerant and drought-resistant can be cultivated at low cost. He also emphasised the importance of supporting local seed preservation and ensuring that farmers have access to them in markets.
The research also noted that although most farmers are aware of the harmful effects of pesticides, they continue to use these chemicals in pursuit of higher economic gains. To address this situation, the study recommended training farmers in safe pesticide use, promoting environmentally friendly farming methods, and implementing stricter legal measures.
This research serves as a warning for policymakers in the agriculture and public health sectors to ensure the safe use of pesticides and take effective steps to protect farmers’ health.
What Experts Say
Environmentalists argue that hybrid seeds require excessive pesticide use, which not only depletes soil fertility but also threatens biodiversity.
Environmental scientist Dr Ahmed Kamruzzaman Majumdar said: “Pesticides kill beneficial insects in the soil and destroy its biological health. These crops are harmful to our health as well. Most farmers lack proper knowledge of pesticide use — they do not know how much to spray on a given amount of land. As a result, excessive pesticide and fertiliser use turns food grains into a threat to human health. In contrast, local seeds produce nutritious crops and are safer for both the environment and the ecosystem.”
Agronomists point out that some local seed varieties are naturally salt-tolerant and could provide sustainable solutions for coastal regions. Although local rice yields are lower, they are climate-resilient, nutritious, and safe.
Dr ABM Zahid Hossain, senior scientific officer and coordinator of the Irrigation and Water Management Department, said: “Hybrid seeds are often a losing proposition for farmers — many times they produce sterile grains, leaving farmers without harvests and saddled with debt. They are even more vulnerable in coastal areas because hybrids are not salt-tolerant. By contrast, some local varieties, such as Darshail and Patnai, are salt-tolerant. While hybrids offer higher yields, they also require higher costs, more fertiliser, and are more easily damaged by natural disasters.”
Trapped by Flashy Advertising
Bangladesh has 30 agro-ecological zones. According to agricultural researcher Pavel Partha, hybrid seeds are disrupting traditional food culture, harming the environment and ecology, and destabilising rural economies. He alleges that farmers are being lured by flashy advertisements.
Although hybrid seed imports were approved after the 1998 floods, farmers themselves are not importing them — foreign companies control the entire market. Multinational corporations like Syngenta, Monsanto, and BASF are gradually pushing the seed sector towards privatisation.
To overcome this crisis, Partha has called for reforms to the Seed Act and for bringing the seed sector under state control. He also urged the establishment of seed storage facilities at every union level, incentives for women farmers to preserve seeds, and the creation of a national seed bank.
He believes seed planning must involve local farmers. The demands to ban seed advertising and to curb the dominance of foreign companies should be taken seriously.
BARCIK’s Shyamnagar upazila manager, Mananjoy Mondal, said: “The growing influence of hybrid seeds in the market is making farmers dependent on corporate companies. As a result, Bangladesh’s traditional crop varieties are gradually disappearing under the aggressive expansion of hybrid seeds. It is therefore essential to restore farmers’ control over seeds, conserve local varieties, and implement a sustainable agricultural policy.”
Experts claim that at least ten aspects of agriculture and rural life are tied to a single seed. Hybrid rice produces no straw, leading to a severe shortage of fodder for livestock. Chemical-intensive farming is also destroying native fish species. Moreover, decisions on hybrid seed cultivation are typically made by men, which sidelines women’s participation in agricultural decision-making and undermines women’s empowerment.
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