Building Climate-Resilient Market Systems in the Barind Tract

On 12 January 2026, more than 120 agricultural stakeholders, including 100 Farmers’ Hub entrepreneurs, gathered at the BRAC Learning Center, Paba, Rajshahi, to explore how market-led innovation and water-efficient technologies can transform the drought-prone Barind Tract into a climate-resilient agricultural growth zone.

The Farmers’ Hub Conference 2025 – Rajshahi was organized by Sustainable Agriculture Foundation Bangladesh under the Introducing Water Efficient Technology (IWET) and Climate Resilient Agricultural Advancement in Barind (CRAAB) projects. The IWET Project is supported by 2030 Water Resources Group and funded by The Coca-Cola Foundation, while the CRAAB Project is supported through a philanthropic grant from HSBC Bangladesh.

Addressing Climate Stress in Bangladesh’s Rice Heartland

The Barind Tract – covering large parts of north-western Bangladesh- is one of the country’s most climate-vulnerable regions. Declining groundwater levels, recurrent droughts, and rising irrigation costs continue to threaten agricultural productivity and farmer livelihoods. In this context, scaling water-efficient irrigation and strengthening market systems have become critical for sustaining food security and rural incomes.

The conference provided a platform for farmers, policymakers, private sector actors, development partners, and financial institutions to engage in practical discussions on how market-driven solutions can accelerate climate adaptation in agriculture.

The Farmers’ Hub Model: Markets at the Center

A central theme of the conference was the Farmers’ Hub model, a decentralized, entrepreneur-led platform designed to connect smallholder farmers to quality seeds, seedlings, saplings, irrigation services, advisory support, and structured markets. By functioning as localized aggregation and service centers, Farmers’ Hubs are helping reduce farmers’ dependence on middlemen, ensure fair farm-gate prices, and improve access to climate-smart agricultural inputs.

Discussions highlighted how Farmers’ Hubs are not only strengthening backward and forward market linkages but also enabling the last-mile delivery of water-efficient technologies, including Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD), particularly vital in drought-prone landscapes like Barind.

Policy and Private Sector Perspectives

Senior officials from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) and the Department of Agricultural Marketing (DAM) emphasized the urgency of scaling water-efficient irrigation technologies to address groundwater depletion in northern Bangladesh. They stressed the need for stronger coordination between extension services, market incentives, and private sector engagement to move climate-smart practices beyond pilot stages.

Private sector representatives from A R Malik Seeds, Ispahani Agro Limited, PRAN Agro Limited, Tiger Agro Limited, Lalteer, and BRAC Seeds explored opportunities to collaborate with Farmers’ Hubs through input supply partnerships, aggregation models, quality assurance mechanisms, and structured market arrangements. These discussions underscored the importance of aligning commercial incentives with farmer-centric and climate-resilient outcomes.

A Shared Commitment for Climate-Resilient Growth

The conference concluded with a shared commitment to:

• Strengthen and expand Farmers’ Hub networks
• Promote adoption of water-efficient irrigation technologies
• Deepen public–private partnerships that place farmers and agri-entrepreneurs at the center of climate-resilient development

By bringing together diverse stakeholders under one platform, the Farmers’ Hub Conference 2025 – Rajshahi reinforced a collective vision for the Barind Tract: a market-driven, climate-resilient agricultural future led by local entrepreneurs and empowered farmers.