A REPORT published in this newspaper on Tuesday said, noted media personality Shykh Seraj submitted 56 recommendations to the Finance Minister for consideration in the upcoming national budget which supported the interests of the agri-farmers. The recommendations are related to the agriculture, poultry, fisheries and livestock sectors. We heartily share his recommendations, as our economy deserves a boost in agro production. No doubt, feeding the ever-growing population in the coming days will be a major challenge for the country. Therefore, government funding for innovative agricultural development and proper policy guidelines are demanded by the experts. Simultaneously, demand for a sufficient budgetary allocation for agriculture is not certainly occasional, rather it carries the significance of agriculture as well as food production.
The 56-point recommendation includes 20 points for the agriculture sector, 12 points for the poultry sector, 13 for the fisheries sector and 11 for the livestock and dairy. All these support certain budgetary inputs for the farmers. These are also supported by the findings of a survey. We are highly enthusiastic as the survey upholds the ground reality of the needs of the farmers. So the government should consider the issues focused in the survey and can incorporate remedial measures in its next budget planning.
The farmers need input supports, soft credits and technical advisory knowledge and irrigation infrastructures and there should be provision for all these inducements in the national budget.
Agriculture is the single largest employment sector of our economy. It comprises about 18.6% of the country’s total GDP and employs around 45% of the total labour force. The outcome of this sector has an overwhelming impact on major macroeconomic entities like employment generation, poverty alleviation, human resources development and food security. Though there are more than 100 apex organizations or trade bodies in Bangladesh none seems to bargain for the peasants. The political parties also maintain their own farmers’ wings, but these are mostly ceremonial posts, they hardly work for the farmers at the grass-root level. The professional bodies argue for their self-interest and are not worried for the farmers.
To work out the dream of a middle-income country, we hold the view that the government should set a farmer friendly fiscal and monetary policy. The next budget must have an allocation for the farmers so that they can avail seeds, credits and other farming utility supports in requisite amounts with soft terms.
