The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dinajpur

Overwhelmed by the sight of bumper paddy harvest at a time of food crisis worldwide, Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed yesterday urged country's farmers to keep the trend of bountiful crop production up to the incoming Aush-Aman season the way they proved that they can stand straight facing natural calamity.

Dr Fakhruddin assured that government's cooperation, assistance and subsidy for farmers and agriculture would not only continue but be increased in the future, and he himself would monitor those incentives.

He informed his audience from the peasantry that his caretaker government provided around Tk 3,900-crore subsidy for agriculture in different ways in the current year.

Eulogizing farmers as successful entrepreneurs, he said all credit goes to the farmers for the bumper borrow production and expressed gratitude to the Almighty Allah for His blessings and good climate during the boro farming.

The head of caretaker government made the appeal and held out assurances at a Farmers Gathering under Boro Paddy Production Activities 2008 programme at Cheradangi High School ground, surrounded by ripe boro paddies, about 8 kilometers off this district town.

Before addressing the assembly, the Chief Adviser along with some farmers, including septuagenarian Year Mohammd, the owner of the paddy land, cut with a sickle ripened BRRI 28 paddy amid a pageant of dance and song of harvesting crop.

Shantal men and women, attired in colorful dresses, sang and danced along the boundaries of the paddies in a pastoral scene of the old times in this agrarian region.

After mowing the paddy for some time, Dr Fakhruddin went on a walkabout along the ridges of cropland sharing the joy with farmers for bumper paddy harvest, against the backdrop of last monsoon's crop failure for floods and cyclone.

Expressing his feelings, he said when he was walking beside the golden paddy land, it was his most pleasant moment in his life.

He heard about bumper production of borro paddy from media and the Ministries concerned, but he came over here to see for himself the bumper production.On behalf of himself and the nation, the Chief Adviser thanked the country's farmers for their remarkable achievement by dint of hard labour as they sowed boro paddy allover the country, as much as possible, including in haor-baor wetlands, which would remain as shining example for the nation. "It has been proved that this nation can move around as farmers showed that they know how to increase crop production facing cyclone 'Sidr' and floods," he told the gathering.

The Chief Adviser informed that agriculture would be given highest priority in the incoming national budget, saying that male and female farmers deserved to get highest priority.

Referring to price fixation for rice and paddy procurement at increased rates by the government compared to last year's procurement price, he said price of rice has been fixed at Tk 28 per kg, Tk 10 higher than last year's.

He said following the increase in price, an additional Tk 1,700 crore would reach the farmers, which would have positive impact on revitalizing the rural economy.

This higher procurement rate will increase the income of farmers and strengthen the rural economy.

He said, "The government would monitor closely procurement of paddy and rice to make sure that farmers are getting fair price of their produce."

Mobile teams will be formed for monitoring the procurement drive.

Agriculture Adviser Dr CS Karim, DG of the Agricultural

Extension Department M Shamsul Alam, peasant representatives M Matiur Rahman and M Abul Hossian of Dinajpur also spoke at the gathering presided over by Secretary of Agriculture Ministry M Abdul Aziz.

The formal harvesting programme was broadcast live on Bangladesh Television and Bangladesh Betar.