The New Nation - Internet Edition

THE government has taken a substantive decision on the distribution of subsidy to be paid on supply of diesel. A sum of seven hundred and fifty crore Taka has been sanctioned for the 2007-08 fiscal year. The amount may cover around twenty-three percent of the cost of irrigation. The subsidy may be paid for irrigating around forty lakh hectares of land that require twelve lakh tonnes according to a newspaper report. Over the years, the use of diesel for irrigation increased as a large number of farmers started using diesel for operating irrigation pumps. The availability of diesel and the price thereof, however, have turned unaffordable for marginal farmers and share-croppers in rural areas. Officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and the district and upazila administration did the spadework for the current decision taken by the government.

The government has decided to give subsidy on diesel to farmers, after duly noting that diesel is used for running eighty-five percent of irrigation pumps. The rest of the pumps are operated with electricity supplied by the concerned agencies. The distribution of subsidy is to be ensured by officials of the agricultural extension department, which has offices down to the Upazila level. These officials periodically visit farm areas and meet the farmers including share-croppers. They thus have an interface with farmers, who look for support for farm inputs including seeds, fertitiser and irrigation water. The practice of distribution of seeds, fertiliser and diesel cards has turned complicated. Many farmers fail to collect cards on time and ultimately, fail to collect farm inputs needed, mainly for Boro cultivation during the dry season. Many farmers remain outside lists of farmers prepared for the purpose and such farmers fail to obtain official support. That being so, the decision of the government to enlist farmers with the help of members of union parishads and the upazila councils may turn effective.

For achieving the objective of augmenting production in the farm sector, the system of distribution of subsidised farm inputs has to be made effective. Members of union parishads and upazila council and officials of the agricultural extension department and other officials of relevant departments at the upazila and the district levels have to be involved in the process of distribution of subsidy and other farm inputs. The end of optimising the use of subisdy has to be kept uppermost in the process of distribution. Farmers have to obtain all subsidised inputs on time. Only then the purpose of subsidising agricultural inputs will be achieved and this, in its turn, would help increase farm yield to an optimum level in this year of scarcity.