Soil Resources Development Institute

department · verified (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head: Dr Begum Samia Sultana
Role: Director General
Annual budget: —
Staff: 689
Established: 1983
Legal basis: Attached department under the Ministry of Agriculture, created by government gazette notification in 1982-83 through merger of the Department of Soil Survey, Soil Survey Interpretation Scheme, and Expanded Soil Survey Programme; traces institutional lineage to the East Pakistan Soil Survey Project of 1961; Analytical Services Division of BARI (with four regional laboratories at Comilla, Joydebpur, Khulna, and Rajshahi) merged into SRDI by government order in 1993

SRDI under DG Dr Begum Samia Sultana is running its flagship soil test-based fertilizer recommendation programme through 34 laboratories (1 central, 8 divisional, 10 mobile, 15 regional) and 21 district offices; key focus areas in the 90-day window are: (1) soil health campaigns with DAE and PKSF promoting balanced fertilization (Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Naogaon -- May and September 2025 and May 2026); (2) continued coastal salinity monitoring from 11 soil and 13 river water stations in Bagerhat, Khulna, and Satkhira districts via the Salinity Management and Research Center at Batiaghata, Khulna; (3) SRDI's organic matter status map showing 78 percent of Bangladesh's land with organic matter below 1 percent (January 2026 finding), underpinning calls for agroecology transition; and (4) the Online Fertiliser Recommendation Service (srdi.gov.bd e-service) providing crop-specific, soil test-based fertilizer dose guidance digitally.

Recent activity

2026-05-09 other SRDI organized a soil health awareness campaign and balanced fertilizer motivation meeting at its Chapainawabganj Regional Office, Rajshahi; DG Dr Samia Sultana and Chief Scientific Officer Aminul Islam led discussions with approximately 25 farmers on soil test-based fertilization and implementation of the Upazila Land and Soil Resource Use Guideline; noted that balanced fertilization raises crop yields by at least 20 percent based on field trials, and that potato farmers in Tanore saved Tk 40 crore in the prior fiscal year through guideline-based input management. ↗
2026-01-15 other Prothom Alo reported SRDI findings that 78 percent of Bangladesh's land has organic matter below 1 percent against an ideal minimum of 2.5 percent, and nearly 76 percent of total land has experienced moderate to very severe fertility loss; SRDI's central laboratory chief scientific officer Md Zainal Abedin confirmed SRDI operates 34 soil laboratories nationwide -- one central lab, eight divisional labs, ten mobile units, and fifteen regional laboratories; Khulna divisional office chief scientific officer GM Mustafizur Rahman noted farmers routinely apply nearly double the fertiliser required for their soil types. ↗
2025-11-23 other SRDI DG Dr Begum Samia Sultana participated in a PKSF-organized policy dialogue on agroecology and chemical-free farming; confirmed that farmers supported by PKSF Partner Organizations now have direct access to SRDI soil testing laboratories nationwide and can receive specialized fertilizer recommendation cards, in a joint SRDI-PKSF outreach arrangement. ↗
2025-11-22 other SRDI's Mobile Soil Testing Laboratory (MSTL) programme distributed fertilizer recommendation cards to over 100 farmers at Shah Agriculture Information Library, Kaligram village, Manda Upazila, Naogaon; principal scientific officers AKM Aminul Islam and Dr Nurul Islam and MSTL team leader Mijanur Rahman led the session, covering soil sample analysis, adulterated fertilizer detection, and mobile lab access; DG Dr Samia Sultana endorsed the programme. ↗
2025-09-12 other SRDI and the Department of Agricultural Extension jointly organized a soil health awareness campaign at DAE Deputy Director's office in Rajshahi as part of Tarunner Utsab 2025; approximately 50 participants including SRDI and DAE officials, farmers, students, and local youth attended; SRDI soil scientists presented balanced soil test-based fertilization as the solution to the fertilizer crisis, with evidence of at least 20 percent yield gains from field trials. ↗

Provenance & notes

Established year set to 1983 (the gazette-notified creation of SRDI as a named institution via merger of three predecessor bodies). The institutional lineage goes back to the East Pakistan Soil Survey Project of 1961 and the post-independence Department of Soil Survey, but the legal entity SRDI came into existence in 1982-83 per Banglapedia. Wikipedia agrees (1982). The 1993 merger of BARI's Analytical Services Division with four regional laboratories into SRDI is confirmed by Banglapedia. Staff count of 689 (215 technical + 33 non-technical + 441 supporting) is from Banglapedia, the most detailed primary source available; ASTI/CGIAR 2012 data (150 researchers) is outdated. The official English name varies between 'Soil Resources Development Institute' (Banglapedia, bdpolicylab convention) and 'Soil Resource Development Institute' (Wikipedia, regional portals); the Banglapedia spelling with 'Resources' (plural) is used as the authoritative English form. DG Dr Begum Samia Sultana confirmed by BSS News (multiple articles: bssnews.net/district/334546, /others/311049, /news/334950, /district/385500) and Prothom Alo (en.prothomalo.com/environment/fo7ox12g0m). Exact appointment date for head_since not found in any accessible source; set to null rather than fabricate a date. Organizational structure: 4 divisions (Development, Survey, Technical Support Service, Soil Testing), 9 sections, 6 regional offices, 21 district offices, 15 regional laboratories, 6 fertilizer testing laboratories, 2 research centers (Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Center at Bandarban; Salinity Management and Research Center at Batiaghata, Khulna), 12 mobile soil testing laboratories -- all from Banglapedia. The Prothom Alo January 2026 article cites 34 labs total (1 central + 8 divisional + 10 mobile + 15 regional), consistent with Banglapedia's count when divisional labs are counted separately. annual_budget_bdt null: no standalone SRDI budget line publicly available. Salinity monitoring: SRDI Khulna office collects monthly data from 11 soil salinity and 13 river water salinity stations in Bagerhat, Khulna, and Satkhira -- confirmed by Nature Scientific Reports 2025 paper citing SRDI Khulna data over 2004-2022. Online Fertiliser Recommendation Service is listed as an e-service on srdi.gov.bd and its regional office portals. verification_status 'verified': core institutional facts cross-verified across Banglapedia and Wikipedia; DG identity cross-verified across four BSS News articles and one Prothom Alo article; coastal salinity monitoring cross-verified between Banglapedia (SMRC at Batiaghata) and Nature Scientific Reports 2025.

Soil Resources Development Institute

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