Dhaka, Oct. 17 -- The story of Bangladesh's agriculture has long been told as one of triumph. A nation that once struggled with food scarcity now grows enough to feed itself and even export.

Behind the shimmering fields of rice and the lush rows of vegetables, however, lies a darker truth-one that smells faintly of chemical vapours and seeps silently into the soil, the water, and the human body. The success story of our agriculture has come at the cost of poisoning its very roots.

Bangladesh's farmers, once known for their intimate understanding of nature, are now waging war against it with chemicals as their weapons. Pesticides and fertilizers, meant to nourish and protect, have turned into silent killers. What began as an attempt to p...