Bangladesh will receive World Bank loans worth US$1.013 billion for financing two projects aimed at mitigating the price and supply volatility in the global fertiliser and fuel markets and sustaining food security.
The Washington-based lender has approved the loans at its executive committee board meeting, the WB said in a press release issued Saturday.
Under the Contingent Emergency Response Project, the Bank will provide $713 million to support quick-disbursing emergency expenditures, including cash transfers and livelihood assistance for affected households and micro, small, and medium enterprises, helping stabilize incomes and preserve jobs during crises.
It will also finance fuel and energy supplies to continue essential services, including food, medicines and medical equipment, energy, and water. The project loan will be disbursed by June 30, 2026.
Under the Emergency Support for Food Security Project, the WB will provide $300 million. It will be a time-bound financing in a bid to help Bangladesh import fertilisers critical for the Aman and Boro seasons in July-October 2026 and October 2026-April 2027, respectively.
The country imports more than 85 per cent of its fertiliser requirements. The project will finance import of 600,000 metric tonnes of critical fertilisers, half of which would be Urea, covering 1,400,000 hectares of rice production cultivated by smallholder farmers.
"Rising food, fertilizer, and fuel prices stemming from the Middle East Conflict, along with tighter fiscal space, have deeply impacted Bangladesh's economy, hitting smallholder farmers as well as poor and vulnerable people the hardest," says Jean Pesme, World Bank Division Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
"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 with essential services."
This project will provide Bangladesh immediate access to funds through the World Bank's crisis preparedness and response toolkit by repurposing unutilized financing from existing projects, directing resources where they are most needed and protecting people, businesses, and jobs from the impact of shocks, says Lesley Jeanne Yu Cordero, World Bank Lead Disaster Risk Management Specialist and Task Team Leader for the project.
