Bangladesh can finally see who gets its $2.5 billion in fertilizer subsidies

Bangladesh spends $2.5 billion each year on fertilizer subsidies, but nobody knew which farmers actually received the money. Researchers developed a new method to combine existing survey data, allowing them to track where the subsidies go.

For years, Bangladesh could not tell if its massive fertilizer subsidy program was helping small farmers or mostly benefiting large, wealthy landowners. This new data method means the government can now see the actual distribution of benefits. This could lead to changes in how the subsidies are given out, potentially shifting money to public goods that help all farmers.