Health & Food
FAO grants target pesticide safety and rural women’s businesses
Bangladesh will receive $447,000 under two grant projects signed on 18 October. A four-year programme allocates $200,000 to pesticide regulation, testing and safer use. Another $247,000 will support rural women’s environmentally friendly businesses through a two-year pilot involving coaching, technology and links to finance and markets.
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From 19 October 2026 — Daily Brief
19 OCT 2026 · 19/25
Bangladesh is to receive $447,000 in grants for safer pesticide management and rural women’s small businesses under two project documents signed in Dhaka on Sunday, 18 October.
The Economic Relations Division and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation signed the documents, dividing the assistance between two programmes.
A four-year pesticide project will provide $200,000 for Bangladesh. Its planned work includes updating regulations, introducing digital registration, strengthening enforcement and improving laboratory capacity to test food for pesticide residues. It will also support farmers’ awareness of safe pesticide use.
That project is funded by China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs through the FAO–China South-South Cooperation Programme.
The remaining $247,000 is for Green Roots Women’s Farm Labs, a two-year initiative being piloted in Bangladesh and Uganda. It aims to help rural women develop environmentally friendly microbusinesses through coaching, appropriate technology and connections to finance and markets.
Bangladesh’s agriculture ministry will lead the pesticide project’s task force, with the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute involved in implementation. Agriculture extension and marketing agencies will also participate in the women’s business initiative.