Bangladesh’s northern districts—particularly Rangpur, Dinajpur, Joypurhat, and Saidpur—are witnessing a deepening crisis in post-harvest potato management. Despite a successful harvest season, potato farmers are struggling to access cold storage, triggering widespread financial losses, market instability, and farmer protests.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Rangpur, the division is served by 101 cold storage facilities with a combined capacity of 1.1 million tonnes. While this may seem significant, it is grossly inadequate to meet the needs of farmers from multiple high-production districts, particularly during peak harvest periods.
Delays, Discrimination, and Desperation
Farmers allege that cold storage operators are prioritizing traders over them, even though the government mandates a 60:40 ratio favoring farmers. The situation has become so dire that many farmers have had to wait in line for days, only to watch traders’ trucks gain nighttime access to storage slots.
“I’ve been here for two days without a permit, but traders’ potatoes are being stored overnight,” said Jahangir Hossain from Kalai upazila in Joypurhat.
Cold storage managers, however, deny such allegations. Abdul Quddus, manager of Botalti Himadri Limited in Joypurhat, claimed that 80% of their current storage allocation is being used by farmers, despite a surge in demand from both farmers and traders.
This surge is partly explained by farmers’ growing interest in storing both seed and table potatoes, following last year’s price boom, which encouraged higher cultivation rates this season.
Transport Costs Soar Amid Congestion
The operational delay at cold storages is compounded by severe highway congestion. Hundreds of potato-laden trucks are stalled on key routes like Dinajpur-Rangpur, Panchagarh-Rangpur, and Dinajpur-Gobindaganj. In Saidpur alone, over 700 vehicles were recently observed in queues stretching several kilometers.
Abdul Mannan, a local resident near Ismail Seed Cold Storage, reported that traffic is blocked for three kilometers from Kamarpukur Bazar to Chikli Bazar. Authorities have deployed police and paramilitary Ansar-VDP personnel to manage the situation.
Meanwhile, transporters are cashing in on the chaos, doubling their fees. Farmers now pay Tk 65 per sack, up from Tk 35, just to move their produce a few kilometers. These additional costs further strain already thin profit margins.
Falling Market Prices Add to Farmer Misery
Amid this logistical breakdown, the market price for potatoes has plummeted, now hovering around Tk 20 per kg—far below production costs. Dhiman Bhushan, Saidpur’s upazila agriculture officer, remarked, “Encouraged by high prices last year, many farmers increased cultivation. But this year, cold storage shortages and falling prices are driving significant losses.”
Farmers Protest Storage Fees, Demand Policy Reform
On April 23, farmers in Kurigram organized a rally and memorandum submission at the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, demanding that the Department of Agricultural Marketing reduce the official cold storage fee from Tk 6.75 to Tk 5 per kg.
Their grievances reflect growing discontent over the government-imposed fee cap, which, while intended to regulate pricing, is perceived as ineffective in ensuring fair access and transparent enforcement.
What was meant to be a profitable harvest has become a logistical nightmare for Bangladesh’s northern potato farmers. The convergence of cold storage shortages, unfair storage allocation, soaring transport costs, and collapsing market prices has left farmers teetering on the edge of economic ruin.
To resolve this crisis, Bangladesh must urgently:
- Expand cold storage infrastructure through public-private investment,
- Enforce fair access policies with strict monitoring,
- Subsidize transport for rural farmers, and
- Boost potato exports to ease domestic market pressure.
Without decisive intervention, more farmers will be driven out of potato farming altogether—threatening national food security and rural livelihoods alike.
