Mechanizing agriculture in Bangladesh: Trends, challenges, and policy priorities

Karim, Md. Aminul; Shamma, Raisa; Bakhtiar, M. Mehrab; Belton, Ben; Kishore, Avinash; and Ahmed, Akhter. 2026. Mechanizing agriculture in Bangladesh: Trends, challenges, and policy priorities. In Transforming Smallholder Agriculture Through Mechanization in Asia: Volume 1: Pathways and Policies, eds. Ma, Wanglin; Rahut, Dil B.; and Sonobe, Tetsushi. Chapter 1, p. 1-42. https://doi.org/10.56506/OFAY7376

Agricultural mechanization has become a cornerstone of rural transformation in Bangladesh (Zhang et al. 2014). Since the 1980s, the country has made significant strides in mechanizing various stages of agricultural production, from land preparation to harvesting (Mottaleb, Krupnik, and Erenstein 2016; Rahman et al. 2021). As in India and other neighboring countries, both informal custom-hiring businesses and government support have enabled the widespread use of agricultural machinery in Bangladesh (Biggs and Justice 2015). Mechanization has helped address growing labor shortages, increase labor productivity and input-use efficiency, and raise farmers’ incomes (Islam 2021; Mandal 2017).