Attachments
Main results
• Data collection took place in 14 districts in eastern Bangladesh between 29 August and 3 September 2024 following flash floods from mid-August to early September.
• In the surveyed area, 50 percent of households were affected by the floods. A particularly high share of the population (95 percent) reported being affected in coastal zone districts. Agricultural households were more affected by the floods, including households engaged in fishery (87 percent), crop (58 percent) and livestock (46 percent) production, compared to 23 percent of non-agricultural households.
• Nearly 19 percent of the affected population reported a loss of employment and 53 percent reported a loss of income, most likely due to the lack of agricultural labour opportunities. Sixty percent of crop and livestock producers reported a loss of income.
• Only 2 percent of the affected population had no or minor damages and losses. Nearly 83 percent of crop and livestock producers reported damage or loss of standing crops. There was also evidence of the loss of animals. Among fish producers, 59 percent reported the loss of fish or aquaculture products.
• The majority of survey respondents anticipated losing income as a long-term consequence of the floods. Over half reported that the floods would likely lead to them losing their livelihoods.
Context
In May 2024, as monsoon season began, Bangladesh was affected by heavy floods and tropical cyclone REMAL-24 (FAO, 2024a). New floods hit the Haor area – a wetland ecosystem in the northeastern part of the country – again in late June (FAO, 2024b).
From mid-August until early September, floods once more affected Bangladesh (FAO, 2024c). Some of the flooded areas were the same as those affected earlier in the monsoon season. However, several characteristics suggested that these later floods had a more severe impact on the agriculture sector. Firstly, the floods occurred during a critical period in the growing stages of aman rice; secondly, new areas were flooded, in particular areas where aquaculture farming is common, flooding ponds; and thirdly, in areas also affected during the earlier flooding, the loss of productive assets by farmers may have proven beyond their resilience capacity.
As highlighted in the needs assessment working group report (CARE International, 2024), the resident coordinator’s situation analysis (United Nations in Bangladesh, 2024), and other reports from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, and the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (2024), which are not publicly available, the estimated losses and damages from the August–September 2024 floods exceeded USD 457 million and over one million small farmers were affected – surpassing all recent crises, including the 2022 floods. Of particular concern was the performance of aman rice. Aman rice accounts for about 38–40 percent of Bangladesh’s total annual rice production and is grown in approximately 50 percent of the rice growing-areas in the country (Takeshima, Kishore and Kumar, 2018). The impact of the August–September 2024 floods was worrying in terms of both magnitude and the timing (in the middle of the aman rice growing season). Aman rice is typically planted between July and August and harvested between November and December, relying entirely on rainfall. Given the high share of households (nearly two-thirds) depending on aman rice production (Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 2022), floods in these areas are likely to have had a deep impact. In addition to the extensive loss in the fisheries and livestock sectors, the floods caused a production loss of over half a million tonnes of rice (FPMU, 2024). This not only exposes already vulnerable households in the affected districts to food insecurity and malnutrition, but also increases the demand for rice imports, potentially exceeding the average annual requirement of one million tonnes (FPMU, 2024).
Objective
Through this Data in Emergencies Impact (DIEM-Impact) assessment, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) explored the impact of the floods in eastern Bangladesh, in August–September 2024, on the livelihoods of those who depend on agriculture. The assessment focused on the immediate consequences for food security, economic stability and rural employment, while also addressing the broader challenges related to the vulnerability of smallholders. Understanding these issues is crucial for informing urgent relief responses and ensuring the resilience of agriculture in flood-prone areas.