UNB, Dhaka :
Speakers at a discussion here on Sunday called for the effective use of agricultural subsidy and boosting the farmers’ production capacity to minimise their price-related shocks.
“Labour productivity is very low in our agriculture. We need to boost production capacity to mitigate prices-related shocks,” said agricultural economist Dr Jahangir Alam.
Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL) in association with Oxfam International arranged the discussion titled ‘Agricultural Development Strategy in the 7th Five-Year Plan’ at the Jatiya Press Club in the city.
Dr Jahangir said, consumers in Bangladesh pay higher prices for foods than many other countries, but the farmers do not get the profit margin. He suggested providing cash subsidy to farmers as the government’s subsidy is not being used effectively. “Farmers spend a big amount of money on irrigation, but no subsidy is given to irrigation despite high fuel prices.”
Saying that the agriculture sector is affected due to climate change, he demanded the government invest in the sector from the climate change fund. Dr Jahangir said the average growth rate in Bangladesh’s agriculture sector was around two percent over the last three years, while the rate in crops is less than two percent.
Addressing the function, State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan said the government’s primary goal was to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production. “As the primary goal has been achieved, now it’s time to go for crop diversification.”
The State Minister urged all concerned to raise the real problems of the agriculture sector so that the government can address those. Shirin Akhter, a Jasad MP, said the 7th Five-Year Plan needs to reflect the agriculture-related problems and targets that remained unaddressed and unachieved during the 6th Five-Year Plan.
Presenting the keynote paper, CSRL Vice Chairman Ziaul Haque Mukta said a comprehensive plan to reform the agriculture sector is needed to be incorporated in the 7th Five-Year Plan, aiming to ensure fair prices for farmers, increase investment in and budgetary allocation for agriculture, and address other problems of the sector.
Ziaul Haque, on behalf of CSRL, described a number of problems the agriculture sector now faces. The problems include low margin of farmers, lower investment in and allocation for the sector, poor services for farmers and absence of bargaining agents to ensure the interest of farmers.
Though the self-sufficiency in rice production has been achieved, he said, the targets to produce other crops have either been achieved partially or not attained at all.
Speakers at a discussion here on Sunday called for the effective use of agricultural subsidy and boosting the farmers’ production capacity to minimise their price-related shocks.
“Labour productivity is very low in our agriculture. We need to boost production capacity to mitigate prices-related shocks,” said agricultural economist Dr Jahangir Alam.
Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL) in association with Oxfam International arranged the discussion titled ‘Agricultural Development Strategy in the 7th Five-Year Plan’ at the Jatiya Press Club in the city.
Dr Jahangir said, consumers in Bangladesh pay higher prices for foods than many other countries, but the farmers do not get the profit margin. He suggested providing cash subsidy to farmers as the government’s subsidy is not being used effectively. “Farmers spend a big amount of money on irrigation, but no subsidy is given to irrigation despite high fuel prices.”
Saying that the agriculture sector is affected due to climate change, he demanded the government invest in the sector from the climate change fund. Dr Jahangir said the average growth rate in Bangladesh’s agriculture sector was around two percent over the last three years, while the rate in crops is less than two percent.
Addressing the function, State Minister for Finance and Planning MA Mannan said the government’s primary goal was to achieve self-sufficiency in rice production. “As the primary goal has been achieved, now it’s time to go for crop diversification.”
The State Minister urged all concerned to raise the real problems of the agriculture sector so that the government can address those. Shirin Akhter, a Jasad MP, said the 7th Five-Year Plan needs to reflect the agriculture-related problems and targets that remained unaddressed and unachieved during the 6th Five-Year Plan.
Presenting the keynote paper, CSRL Vice Chairman Ziaul Haque Mukta said a comprehensive plan to reform the agriculture sector is needed to be incorporated in the 7th Five-Year Plan, aiming to ensure fair prices for farmers, increase investment in and budgetary allocation for agriculture, and address other problems of the sector.
Ziaul Haque, on behalf of CSRL, described a number of problems the agriculture sector now faces. The problems include low margin of farmers, lower investment in and allocation for the sector, poor services for farmers and absence of bargaining agents to ensure the interest of farmers.
Though the self-sufficiency in rice production has been achieved, he said, the targets to produce other crops have either been achieved partially or not attained at all.
