Procedural complexities likely to deprive farmers of diesel subsidy

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S M Jahangir
An inordinate delay in the fixation of criteria for payment of official subsidy on diesel at the farmers' level might deal a blow to the irrigation activities in the current 'Boro' cultivation season, sources said.
The government has just initiated the process of setting up the strategy for distributing subsidy on the fuel to be used for irrigation purpose even though the cultivation of 'Boro' crop has already begun across the country.
As a result, the farmers would get little benefit of a Tk 7.50-billion worth of fund, which has been allocated as diesel subsidy for the current fiscal year, sources said.
According to official sources, the government has, of late, undertaken steps to conduct a countrywide survey on the number of irrigation pumps and total area of land for the Boro cultivation.
Under the proposed survey, a list of farmers will also be prepared under all the agriculture blocks across the country with the help of field-level agriculture officials.
The Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) will conduct the survey under the direct supervision of the existing district and upazila-level agriculture committees, officials said.
After finalising the data, the Ministry of Agriculture will set the criteria for providing subsidy on diesel to the farmers, they mentioned, adding that the ministry would then seek fund for the subsidy from the Ministry of Finance.
Sources, however, said the entire process would take at least three months.
As a result, the farmers are unlikely to get the government support in the form of subsidy during the peak irrigation season, sources observed.
Acknowledging the delay in the payment of subsidy on diesel for irrigation purpose, a senior official said the payment criteria should have been completed earlier for the benefit of the farmers.
The government has initiated the move to provide subsidy on diesel for the irrigation purpose against the backdrop of a surging price of the gasoline in the international market, said officials.
The irrigation cost is high in Bangladesh in comparison with many other countries including neighboring India, he observed.
Official data showed that the production cost of rice went up by Tk 6.50 per mound mainly due to the latest adjustment of the gasoline price by the government last April.
The price of diesel, which is largely used for running irrigation pumps, was raised by Tk 7.0 per litre to Tk 40.
Marginal farmers, especially the users of diesel-driven water pumps, find themselves in a difficult situation to afford the enhanced irrigation costs.
Official figures also showed that about 1.2 million mechanised pumps are used for irrigation purpose across the country during the Boro season. And nearly 80 per cent of the country's total irrigation pumps are diesel-driven, the figures showed.
According to the Energy Division, more than 1.50 million litres of diesel are used per month for the irrigation purpose during the Boro season alone.