The World Bank has approved US$1.1 billion in emergency financing for Bangladesh to secure fertiliser imports and sustain essential services, as global food and energy price shocks intensify. The package, announced on 26 June, comes as the Middle East conflict and climate-driven disruptions rattle fertiliser and fuel supply chains. Bangladesh imports more than 85 percent of its fertiliser needs, leaving its rice-dependent farm sector acutely exposed. The financing will fund 600,000 metric tonnes of fertiliser for the upcoming Aman and Boro planting seasons, supporting rice cultivation across 1.4 million hectares, with disbursement expected by 30 June.

The assistance is split into two projects. A US$300 million Emergency Support for Food Security Project targets fertiliser imports, half of it urea, for the July–October Aman crop and the October–April Boro crop. The remaining US$713 million, under a Contingent Emergency Response Project, will provide cash transfers and livelihood support to affected households and small businesses, and finance energy imports to keep healthcare, water and electricity services running. World Bank division director Jean Pesme said rising food, fertiliser and fuel prices, combined with tighter fiscal space, have “deeply affected Bangladesh’s economy, particularly smallholder farmers and poor and vulnerable households.” Dhaka is also in talks with the IMF for additional external financing to shore up foreign exchange reserves.

Viewed from Jakarta, the policy response to the same global price pressures takes a different form. Indonesia’s government has opted to expand domestic fertiliser subsidies rather than seek emergency loans. The agriculture ministry reports that 9.55 million tonnes of subsidised fertiliser have been allocated this year, with 5.1 million tonnes still available as of late June, and the maximum retail price was cut by 20 percent. Minister Andi Amran Sulaiman linked the policy to rising output, citing a FAO projection that places Indonesia as the world’s fourth-largest rice producer at 38.6 million tonnes, even as global production is expected to fall 1.6 percent. Yet a domestic debate is emerging. Achmad Tjachja Nugraha, head of the agricultural economics alumni group KASAI, acknowledged the production gains but questioned why rice prices have not fallen, calling the supply-demand dynamic “an anomaly.” He urged a comprehensive approach beyond production, noting that the farmer exchange rate has reached a 34-year high of 127 and agricultural sector growth hit 5.74 percent, a 25-year record, while consumer prices remain elevated.

For Bangladesh, the immediate milestone is the rapid import of fertiliser ahead of the Aman planting window and the disbursement of cash assistance by the end of the month. Indonesia’s agriculture ministry, meanwhile, is accelerating distribution of the remaining subsidised stock to farmers and monitoring El Niño risks that could affect yields in several regions. The contrasting strategies—external crisis financing versus domestic subsidy expansion—illustrate how two major rice-producing nations are navigating the same global shock, with outcomes that will be measured not only in harvest volumes but also in the prices paid by households.