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Standing Committee on Ministry of Agriculture

parliamentary_committee · partial (verified 2026-05-17)

Profile

Head
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Role
Chairman
Annual budget
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Staff
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Established
1972
Legal basis
Constitution of Bangladesh, Article 76 (a standing committee shall be appointed for each ministry); Jatiya Sangsad Rules of Procedure, Rules 190-230 (standing committees on ministries: constitution, quorum, powers to summon witnesses and examine accounts, reporting duties).

As of 17 May 2026, the Standing Committee on Ministry of Agriculture for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad has not been constituted: the first session (12 March to 30 April 2026) formed only five procedural committees and the parliament is currently in recess. The ministry it is mandated to oversee is simultaneously managing four interlocked crises: (1) the 2026 Boro procurement campaign (paddy at Tk 36/kg, target 5 lakh tonnes, 7 May to 31 August) contested by farmers as below real production cost amid haor flood losses; (2) haor flash-flood relief (Tk 7,500/month for 3 months to affected farmers, ~46,730 ha submerged, ~208,000 tonnes paddy loss estimated); (3) the gas-crisis-driven urea factory shutdowns that idled five of six BCIC plants in March 2026, partially resolved after Ghorashal-Polash restarted 31 March; and (4) the Farmer Card pre-piloting (22,065 cards in 10 districts, full rollout target 2.75 crore farmers over 5 years).

Recent activity

Provenance & notes

The Standing Committee on Ministry of Agriculture is constitutionally mandated (Article 76) and must be formed for each parliament under Jatiya Sangsad Rules of Procedure, Rules 190-230. As of 17 May 2026, it has NOT been constituted for the 13th Jatiya Sangsad: the first session (12 March to 30 April 2026, 25 sittings) formed only five procedural committees. Ministry-level standing committees, including Agriculture, remain pending for the second session. The parliament.gov.bd page at /Members-of-committees/137/ exists as a shell URL but carries no confirmed 13th-parliament membership. verification_status is therefore 'partial': the constitutional and legal basis is verified across two primary sources (Constitution Article 76; Rules of Procedure; parliament.gov.bd), but current_head, head_since, and committee membership are unconfirmed. The minister overseeing the Agriculture portfolio in the Tarique Rahman government (sworn 17 February 2026) is Amin ur Rashid Yasin (born 23 January 1958, Comilla; BNP technocrat; chairman of Lalmai Group; portfolio covers Agriculture, Fisheries, and Livestock combined). The four live policy issues within the committee's mandate window are: (a) Boro 2026 procurement — Tk 36/kg paddy, 5 lakh tonne target, 3 May to 31 August, contested by economists as below real cost (Ministry of Agriculture itself estimates Tk 32.97/kg production cost, but farmers report break-even closer to Tk 34-36 including labour); (b) haor flash-flood relief — ~46,730 ha submerged across 7 districts in early April at peak harvest, ~208,000 tonnes paddy loss, government response: 12-day advance in procurement schedule for haor districts, Tk 7,500/month x 3 months cash relief under PM directive of 7 May 2026; (c) urea crisis — gas rationing shut 5 of 6 BCIC/Kafco factories from ~5 March 2026, Middle East disruption raised import urea prices to ~$700/tonne, stock of 468,000 tonnes reported sufficient to cover Boro demand, Ghorashal-Polash restarted 31 March, FY2025-26 fertiliser subsidy proposed at Tk 17,000 crore; (d) Farmer Card (Krishak Card) — PM inaugurated pre-piloting on 14 April 2026 in Tangail (Pahela Boishakh), 22,065 Sonali Bank debit cards in 11 upazilas/10 districts, Tk 2,500 immediate transfer, target 2.75 crore farmers over 5 years with 10 benefit categories implemented by DAE. The 11th parliament's agriculture committee (2019-2024) was chaired by Awami League MP Motia Chowdhury (former agriculture minister), with 10 members; that precedent gives no indication of who will chair for the 13th JS.

Sources