Country's small farmers 'still neglected'
Thursday, 6 May 2010
FE Report
The country's small farmers are still neglected although the government's credit disbursement schemes for farming sector continue amid much fanfare, an influential economist alleged Wednesday.
"Credits are filtered to the big farmers," said Rehman Sobhan, chairman of local think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
His comments came as the government continues to disburse Tk 115.12 billion among farmers in the current fiscal year under the agriculture credit policy, up by 22.74 per cent over the previous fiscal year.
The credit policy, championed by Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman, considers the rural sector the main driving force of the national economy to ensure food security of the country.
Mr Sobhan made the remarks at the inaugural session of the two-day international workshop on 'Building Climate Resilient Agriculture in Asia' in the capital.
India-based non-profit organisation International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and CPD are jointly organising the event.
Speaking as chief guest, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said they would emphasise the cultivation of high-value crops and vegetables in the northern region in dry season and rice in summer season to ensure food security.
"We are stepping ahead with a crop-zoning strategy in mind," she said.
She told the audience that Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture has developed two saline-tolerant varieties of paddy. "But two or three varieties are not enough, so we need to develop more varieties."
The minister said area coverage of rice cultivation in coastal region would have to be increased. The excavation of the Gorai and other upstream rivers would pave the way for increasing inflow of sweet water from the north to the salinity-affected south.
She said the potentiality of surface water has not been explored at all and the issue of rainwater conservation is also neglected.
She added that promoting surface water as supplementary to irrigation is the government's priority.
Prof Sobhan, who chaired the event, said institutional arrangements should be put in place to combat the impacts of climate change.
He said special attention should be given to small farmers and their small needs, which are not satisfactorily addressed in the market-driven policy of the World Bank.
"Appropriate measures have to be taken and farmers should be timely delivered with farm inputs."
The country's small farmers are still neglected although the government's credit disbursement schemes for farming sector continue amid much fanfare, an influential economist alleged Wednesday.
"Credits are filtered to the big farmers," said Rehman Sobhan, chairman of local think-tank Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD).
His comments came as the government continues to disburse Tk 115.12 billion among farmers in the current fiscal year under the agriculture credit policy, up by 22.74 per cent over the previous fiscal year.
The credit policy, championed by Bangladesh Bank Governor Atiur Rahman, considers the rural sector the main driving force of the national economy to ensure food security of the country.
Mr Sobhan made the remarks at the inaugural session of the two-day international workshop on 'Building Climate Resilient Agriculture in Asia' in the capital.
India-based non-profit organisation International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and CPD are jointly organising the event.
Speaking as chief guest, Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury said they would emphasise the cultivation of high-value crops and vegetables in the northern region in dry season and rice in summer season to ensure food security.
"We are stepping ahead with a crop-zoning strategy in mind," she said.
She told the audience that Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture has developed two saline-tolerant varieties of paddy. "But two or three varieties are not enough, so we need to develop more varieties."
The minister said area coverage of rice cultivation in coastal region would have to be increased. The excavation of the Gorai and other upstream rivers would pave the way for increasing inflow of sweet water from the north to the salinity-affected south.
She said the potentiality of surface water has not been explored at all and the issue of rainwater conservation is also neglected.
She added that promoting surface water as supplementary to irrigation is the government's priority.
Prof Sobhan, who chaired the event, said institutional arrangements should be put in place to combat the impacts of climate change.
He said special attention should be given to small farmers and their small needs, which are not satisfactorily addressed in the market-driven policy of the World Bank.
"Appropriate measures have to be taken and farmers should be timely delivered with farm inputs."