BANGLADESH – Empowering mustard farmers in Dinajpur through cooperative action

Thankurgaon, Bangladesh – In Pirganj upazila, Thakurgaon district, Bangladesh, farming has long been a way of life, but farmers have always been burdened by financial challenges and unfair market systems. For years, smallholder farmers have depended on local moneylenders to finance their crops, often at exorbitant interest rates. As a result, most of their profits from mustard farming went straight to repaying debts, leaving little for their families’ livelihoods.

Access to formal bank loans is scarce, forcing many to rely on intermediaries who profit the most from farmers’ hard work. This cycle of debt and dependency left farmers with little control over their production and prices.

Change began when the Ranashia ICM Farmers Cooperative Society in Pirganj, Thakurgaon district developed a business plan on mustard production, financed by the APFP-FO4A program through the COAST Foundation, the national implementing agency of APFP-FO4A in Bangladesh. The cooperative provided interest-free loans and access to quality inputs, empowering members to cultivate mustard on time without resorting to high-interest borrowing.

In the past, farmers without enough capital had to wait until they sold their rice harvest before they could start planting mustard. Now, with the cooperative’s loan support, they can begin cultivation on time without the burden of high-interest debts.

Fifty farmers have already benefited from the initiative. The farmers repay their loans with mustard after harvesting. The cooperative purchases mustard from farmers at their location and at the current market price, thereby reducing transportation costs for the farmers.

The cooperative established their own committees for purchase, sales and marketing to help the farmers. Furthermore, the local government is also actively involved, overseeing the project’s implementation to ensure its success.

The cooperative plans to process mustard oil and produce honey from beekeeping in the mustard fields to diversify and strengthen its income-generating activities.

The APFP-FO4A program is implemented by the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and La Via Campesina (LVC), with funding support from the European Union (EU) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The program aims to strengthen the capacities of farmers’ organizations to provide economic services, advocate for enabling policies, and promote sustainable livelihoods for small-scale family farmers across Asia.