Agriculture Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid. File Photo

SANGSAD BHABAN, June 18, 2026 (BSS)- Agriculture Minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid today told the parliament that Bangladesh has around 88.29 lakh hectares (2.18 crore acres) of arable land, which is nearly 60 percent of the country's total area.

“The total arable agricultural land area of Bangladesh is about 88,29,000 hectares (2.18 crore acres), which is about 59.7 percent of the total area of the country,” he said, 

The minister said this in reply to a starred tabled question from ruling party lawmaker Khairul Kabir Khokan (Narsingdi-1) in the House with Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad, Bir Bikram, in the chair.

The agriculture minister said a large area of cultivable land is being lost every year due to unplanned urbanization, housing and industrialization in Bangladesh.

To address this situation and ensure the country's food security, the government has recently taken several tough and significant steps, including the enactment of the Land Use Control and Agricultural Land Protection Act, 2026.

Amin Ur Rashid said the government is providing quality seeds, irrigation facilities, and agricultural loans on easy terms to farmers to convert one-crop or two-crop lands into three-crop lands, so that farmers are motivated to cultivate their land instead of leasing or selling it for non-agricultural purposes.