The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Agriculture Adviser Dr CS Karim yesterday said the caretaker government would provide cash subsidy to the farmers in the middle of the current Boro season to help them reduce their irrigation cost.

He, however, declined to disclose the strategy as to how the cash subsidy would be distributed among the farmers. "Please, wait and see…the government is working on it," he told reporters.

Dr. Karim announced the government plan at a dialogue titled 'Input Strategy for Higher Boro Production', organised by CPD at CIRDAP Auditorium in the city. Chaired by CPD Chairman Prof Rehman Sobhan, the discussion was also addressed by Food Adviser M Shawkat Ali. As per Adviser Karim's announcement, the cash subsidy will reach the farmers in the middle of March or April.

Participating in the dialogue, former Agriculture Minister and Awami League leader Matia Chowdhury said the farmers need to be provided with cash subsidy right now, not in March-April.

"They (government) have no experience at all in dealing with the farmers' needs… The reality is quite different. Usually, the farmers go through a cash crisis when they start the Boro plantation. So, any kind of cash support will help them a lot," said the former agriculture minister.

The caretaker government has earlier announced a plan that the farmers would be provided with a total of Tk 850 crore as cash subsidy to support the irrigation.

As per the plan, each farmer is supposed to get Tk 700 per acre of land.

CPD researcher Dr. Uttam Deb presented the keynote paper at the discussion. He said the government has set a target to produce 1.75 crore tons of Boro rice on 45 lakh hectares of land against the last year's target of 1.50 crore tons.

He said Boro paddy has so far been planted on only two-thirds of the targeted areas. Nineteen districts are still below the target.

Dr. Deb said the farmers are not getting agriculture inputs, particularly fertiliser and it would ultimately hamper the efforts to achieve the output target. "The government should reach fertilisers to the farmers even if it's at a higher price. Otherwise, the target will not be achieved," the researcher said. Dr. CS Karim said the government has ascertained about 16,000 points across the country to distribute fertilisers among the farmers through 4,500 dealers. "One dealer will cover 900 farmers on average."

Defending the idea for providing the cash subsidy in the middle of Boro season, he said this was planned so that the real farmers can get the subsidy, not the middlemen of the pump operators. "If we provide the cash in advance, it might go to the pump operators, not the farmers," he said.

Matia Chowdhury alleged, "There is a total mess in fertiliser distribution, there is no discipline. Most of the farmers are not getting fertiliser. Those who get they have to buy it at Tk 1950 instead of the actual price of Tk 700. The farmers are still in doubt whether they will at all get fertiliser in the current season."

She, however, opposed the idea of privatising the fertiliser distribution system changing the present one.

Citing the experience of dismantling Bangladesh Agricultural Distribution Corporation (BADC) from fertiliser distribution task, she said this was done to comply with the donors' prescription. "After that about 18 farmers were killed as they demonstrated demanding fertiliser, but no donor then come forward in aid of them," she said.

BIDS research fellow Dr. Asaduzzaman, agronomist Dr. Z Karim, Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council Director MM Reza also spoke at the function.