Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
The World Bank has greenlit a massive $1.1 billion financial package for Bangladesh to mitigate severe fertilizer and fuel price volatility, safeguard national food security, and anchor rapid crisis response mechanisms.
Designed for immediate deployment, the entire capital injection is scheduled to be fully disbursed by June 30, 2026, offering Dhaka crucial fiscal headroom to manage macroeconomic shocks.
Of the total package, $300 million will go as emergency support for food security, while $713 million will be provided under a contingent emergency response mechanism to finance quick-disbursing expenditures, including cash transfers, livelihood support for affected households and micro, small and medium enterprises, and to help sustain essential services such as food, medicines, energy and water. The funds are scheduled to be disbursed by June 30, 2026.
“The World Bank has stepped up with immediate support to help Bangladesh mitigate this impact to ensure fertiliser supply for rice production, protect households, jobs and livelihoods, and continue essential services,” said Jean Pesme, World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan, noting that rising food, fertiliser and fuel costs, along with tighter fiscal space, have hit smallholders and vulnerable groups hardest.
The $300 million allocation will finance imports of 600,000 tonnes of critical fertilisers, including 500,000 tonnes of urea, covering around 14 lakh hectares of rice cultivation during the Aman (July–October 2026) and Boro (October 2026–April 2027) seasons. Bangladesh currently imports over 85% of its fertiliser requirements.
World Bank Lead Economist and Task Team Leader Souleymane Coulibaly said, “The Aman and Boro seasons together account for about 90 percent of total annual rice output. Any disruption in fertiliser supply would not only threaten food security, but it would also deepen poverty and cost jobs.”
World Bank Lead Disaster Risk Management Specialist Lesley Jeanne Yu Cordero added that the project will repurpose unutilised funds from existing projects to direct resources where they are most needed.