The New Nation - Internet Edition

Shamim Jahangir

The government has taken up a five-year Tk 619.29 crore innovative programme styled "National Agriculture and Technology Project" (NATC) to ensure fair prices to the farmers for their produce food security and stop the manipulation of prices by middlemen.

The World Bank financed project to be launched from July next also aims at employment generation at the grass roots level of the society, according to official sources.

Of the total outlay of the project, the World Bank will provide Tk 571.11 crore and Bangladesh government Tk 48.18 crore.

Again of the total amount, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) will get Tk 123.29 crore, horticulture foundation Tk 36.13 crore, fisheries sector Tk 55.35 crore and livestock department Tk 71.85 crore to implement the project.

Under the project, the Government will set up 'Farmers Information and Advise Centre' (FIAC) at the union parishad level for the dissemination of information on prices of different agricultural commodities.

The FIAC in each union of the country will be manned by the personnel from the department of agriculture extension, livestock, fisheries and horticulture. They will help the farmers for the development agriculture sector by giving advice on the luxuriant growth of various crops, vegetables and fruits and making available latest technologies for augmenting production.

This programme will also give fillip to the livestock and fisheries sectors, officials said.

FIAC is designed to play an active role in solving problems of the farmers and others in the production of crops, vegetables, fish and fruits, sources added.

The government also decided to involve the non-government organisations (NGOs) to implement the project successfully.

A high official of the Ministry of Agriculture told the New Nation that the comprehensive development of the agricultural sector would depend on the implementation of the NATC project successfully. "It is for the first time the government has taken such kind of project to ensure food security. It will also strengthen the monitoring system of the market at grass-roots level and create employment opportunities in agriculture sector," he added.

The term of the project may be extended to another 10 years if it is successful during the first five years, he informed.