NEWSPAPER reports on Wednesday said that government subsidies to poor farmers to buy power tillers aiming at promoting mechanized crop cultivation have been allocated to ruling party activists in Jhenidah district. At Kotchandpur, out of the 15 beneficiaries of the government aid, eight were Jubo League men and the rest were ruling party men listed with other front organisations of the ruling party. All of the 15 people have withdrawn the grants, but only six bought the power tillers. The aid was supposed to go to poor farmers, but the embezzlement of the fund by local political goons is putting the government’s scheme to failure. It can be said the authority should be more careful in allotting the subsidies; they must protect it from falling into the hands of the goons. But the government officials are highly vulnerable to threats and depriving the farmers from what was supposed to go to them.
The disclosure said the government sought application from farmers in January this year and disbursement of subsidies were in March at 25 percent of the value of the appliances. The amount varies from Tk 30,000 to 40,000 depending on the price of the appliances. In the first phase, six upazilas of the district got subsidies for 90 farmers. Financial support for another 185 farmers of the district was later granted and the disbursement started recently. Officials of the Directorate of Agriculture Extension in Jhenidah made no secret that they allocated the subsidies to political leaders and activists on political pressure. But such politically motivated distribution of money to party goons will only undermine mechanization of farming when adequate number of cattle for tilling is not available for timely cultivation.
Mechanized farming in Bangladesh is slowly taking over cattle run tilling. Analysts said, nearly 70 percent of 13.74 million hectares of total cropland are now cultivated by power tillers and tractors and about 67 percent of the 76 lakh hectares of arable lands irrigated by mechanized means. It has also reduced the cost of tilling, absorbed a portion of farm labour and accelerated growth in workshop for farm machinery and repair services. One of the main benefits of mechanized tilling is timely cultivation, which farmers cannot ensure by depending on tilling by cattle. The government should therefore extend financial help like subsidies to poor farmers to buy the agricultural apparatus. But if greedy politicians take away the fund and the political leadership watch on agriculture would fail and there would be total chaos soon. .
The second phase of distribution has just started and people believe that the government must ensure transparency in allocating the subsidies and ensure that it is going to the needy farmers. The ruling party leaders must hold back their party men from taking away subsidy money meant for promoting mechanization of agriculture helping poor farmers. Moreover taxpayers’ money must be protected from misuse. If the real farmers remain bereft off the facility provided by government the charming “Green revolution” would fail.
