The New Nation - Internet Edition

"MONGA" meaning the high price of goods is experienced in northern districts including Rangpur during the months of "Ashwin" and "Kartik" of the Bengali Calendar. the availability of good grains turns scrence if there is loss of crops including paddy due to natural calamities. the transplanted 'Aman' paddy, planted in the months of "Sraban" and "Bhadra", is harvested in the month of "Agrahayan." the production of this paddy is in some years affected by natural calamities like drought and flooding. As a result, farmers in general and the lower-income group people in particular face food shortage for months together till the harvest o the next crop.

The marginal farmers and share-croppers in northern districts do not have dequate resources for buying farm-inputs for augmenting production of crops. They borrow from local money-lenders at high rates of interest for the purpose and turn long-defaulters. In many cases they sell their property including farm land to repay the loans and meet daily needs. This category of people become direct victims of 'monga" every year. In such a context, the assertion of the Chief Adviser at a public meeting at Gangachhara Upazila of Rangpur district to help overcome "monga" on a lasting basis is commendable. The move of the government may be fruitful if activates of other stakeholders of the areas are put together. the setting up of industrial zones and commercial areas in the northern region may lead to the creation of employment for rural people. The processing of farm outputs may create job opportunities for the younger generation of people.

Beyond that, the entry of the youngsters into other employment market would help increase the earnings of many families to fight monga. Efforts should be made for updating technical skills of the youngsters in the northern region and scholarships for the qualified ones among them have to be provided by the government. the cabinet committee on "monga" and poverty alleviation has to work without loss of time to help overcome the problem at the earliest. As suggested by the Chief Adviser, the cultivation of diversified food and other corps and expanding income-generation activates in the northern region have to be ensured. the cultivation of BR-33 variety of paddy has to be augmented with timely supply of inputs to the farming community. the ownership of land may also be brought under review for ultimately enabling marginal farmers and share-croppers to obtain due return on investment and the manual labour used for farming to get adequate wage.