Akbar advocates Agricultural Price Commission

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The government should constitute an 'Agricultural Price Commission (APC)' for fixing prices of agricultural produces, former caretaker government adviser Akbar Ali Khan said Friday, reports bdnews24.com.
Dr Khan urged the government to form an APC as soon as possible as he gave away medals to recipients of 'Bangabandhu Krishi Padak (Agriculture Medal)' at a discussion meeting held at the National Press Club.
"Our neighbour India has one. Our government needs to follow that example because it's always the Cabinet ministers who fix the rice price or the manure selling price," Khan, a former Cabinet secretary, said.
"An Agricultural Price Commission's basic functions include estimating and monitoring production expenses of commodities and fixing viable prices.
"We must work together and enable our agriculture and agricultural economies graduate to the 21st century and reduce costs.
"West Bengal has been able to cut costs already. We too must be able to do that or face an insurmountable challenge in the agriculture sector.
"To do that, we must first make our farmers aware of the balanced use of manures and irrigation."
He stressed the need of introducing transparent agricultural administration, increased use of technology and technology-expansion at the field level.
The former adviser said, "We must enhance our agricultural research initiatives and increase contacts with the marginal farmers, or we'll face defeat combating the challenges of 21st century."
He expressed the hope that the country would attain self-sufficiency and prosperity in the agricultural sector just as the freedom fighters had won a seemingly impossible war in 1971.
Dhiraj K Nath, Dr Shakur Nasir, Md Abul Kalam, Sardar Md Abul Kalam Azad, Professor Kamrunnissa Dulal, Maksuda Begum, Altaf Hossain and Mehruba were awarded 'Bangabandhu Krishi Padak'.