The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Bangladesh Awami League has taken an agriculture rehabilitation programme, involving Tk 12,48,000, to help the farmers of three Sidr-hit upazilas recoup their crop losses. The upazilas are Golachipa of Patuakhali, Taltali of Barguna and Sharankhola of Bagerhat districts.

A total of 1,860 farmers (6,20 in each upazila) would get assistance under the rehabilitation programme, AL leaders Saturday told journalists at a press briefing at its Dhanmondi office. They said Golachipa would get Tk 4,33,400, Taltali Tk 3,98,100 and Sharankhola Tk 4,16,500 from the total amount of Tk 12,48,000. The farmers would be provided with seeds and fertilizers apart from cash for purifying pond water, cultivating fish and rebuilding the damaged betel-leaf fields and poultry farms.

Under the programme, exhibition plots of corn and watermelon would also be set up to popularise the farm produces.

Awami League will launch the rehabilitation programme on January 15, 16 and 17 in Golachipa, Taltali and Sharankhola upazilas respectively. "It's just a token programme with limited resources compared to the necessity… We hope that the government, NGOs and donor agencies would come up with necessary measures following our rehabilitation programme and recommendations that we made based on a field survey," AL agriculture and cooperative secretary Dr Abdur Razzak told the journalists.

He, however, said the fertilizer crisis, which in fact surfaced during the previous government, worsened in the last 7-8 months, creating a panic among the farmers across the country. "No programme to rebuild the country's agriculture sector would be successful if the farmers cannot be assured of the smooth supply of fertilizers and other agri-inputs," Dr Razzak said.