Call to raise budgetary allocation for agri sector

Speakers at a roundtable on Tuesday demanded that the government increase allocation for agriculture sector in the next budget.

They made the demand at the roundtable on 'farmer-friendly agriculture budget' organised by Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL) at the National Press Club in the city.   

Ziaul Haque Mukta, vice president of CSRL, presented a keynote paper at the discussion meeting. "The incumbent government is agriculture-friendly and now it should be farmer-friendly."

So, the government should increase necessary allocation for development of farmers' livelihood, he said.

Dr Jahangir Alam, former director general of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI), said the government should increase allocation by at least 26 per cent for agriculture sector.

He mentioned that allocation to the agriculture sector was reduced in last three years.   

Shormind Nilormi, general secretary of the CSRL, moderated the programme chaired by CS Karim, chairman of the organisation.

Ahsan Uddin Ahmed, executive director of Centre for Global Change (CGC), said due to climate change, the country's agriculture sector is now facing setbacks.

He said if present traditional agriculture system exists, it will be dangerous for this sector in future. He stressed the need for development of such agriculture process to tackle the impacts of climate change.     

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