More budgetary funds for agriculture sought

Economists and experts have sought an increased allocation for agriculture in the 2015-16 national budget because of the sector's crucial role in food security.
They said, given props, agriculture will continue to record successes as it did in recent years.
Experts said in terms of total budgetary allocations, share of the agriculture sector in the upcoming financial year 2015-16 (FY'16) should not decline.
The peasantry in the current financial year (FY'15) suffered a lot amid two spells of floods in August and September which hit rice farmers and three-month long political crisis that caused drastic fall in prices of potato and vegetables during January-March period this year.
Agricultural economists and farmers have suggested an increase in allocation for the farm sector in the next budget to lift the farmers from the burden of loans and losses they incurred.
They advocated for direct subsidy for the farmers to hold them in agriculture and for raising expenditure on agricultural research for the sake of the country's food security.  
The declining trend in budgetary allocation and farm subsidy has been continuing for the last three financial years, regretted the experts.
A senior official at the agriculture ministry told the FE that the ministry has pleaded for Tk133.33 billion in the next budget of which Tk114.15 billion is for non-development and Tk19.18 billion for development expenditure.
He said the budget size of the agriculture ministry is Tk123.96 billion in the current financial year of which 12. 30 per cent is for development outlay.   
He said farm subsidy is likely to remain at Tk90.0 billion in FY'16, same as that of FY'15 and FY'14. It was Tk120 billion in FY'13.
According to the agriculture ministry data, allocations for agriculture including development, non-development and subsidy in terms of the total budget basket was 14.19 per cent in FY'13 which plunged to  9.57 per cent in FY'14, 8.55 in FY'15 and likely to be 7.60 per cent in FY'16.
Additional secretary of the MoA Md Anwar Faruqe said the allocation has been suggested to increase by Tk10 billion for the ministry in the next budget.
He admitted that considering the total budget, the allocation for agriculture may fall.
"But the figure might be changed after consideration," he said.
Agricultural economist Prof Gazi M Jalil said allocation for agriculture sector is gradually declining for many years in terms of the total budgetary allocation and the gross domestic product (GDP)".   
He said farm subsidy in FY'13 was 6.34 per cent which was reduced to 4.0 per cent in FY'14 and to 3.6 per cent in FY'15," said Prof Gazi, who teaches agro economics at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University.
He said subsidy is likely to be only 3.05 per cent if it remains the same in the next fiscal year.
He said poultry farmers, potato and vegetable growers incurred a huge loss in the January-March period of the outgoing financial year due to political crisis. "They should be compensated."
"Two spells of flood in August and September last year had caused huge losses for 2.0 million farmers who got nothing. They should be given cash subsidy," he said.
"The government has been giving compensation to truck owners who were affected during blockade while carrying goods, but it (government) is neglecting the farmers who produced those," he said.    
Agriculture economist Golam Hafiz Kennedy said besides indirect subsidies, which are given in fertiliser and electricity, direct subsidy should also be provided to boost farmers' morale.
"Farmers showed tremendous success in the last ten years as rice production showed a surplus yield and vegetable, potato, pulse, onion, oil seed, jute production achieved new records," he said.
"But the government's support is not significant against the farmers' achievements," he said.
"The challenge today is to keep farmers in agriculture as there are now many sectors which are drawing hundreds of farmers from the fields daily," he said.
Subal Sarker, secretary of the Bangladesh Bhumiheen Samity, an organisation that works with marginal farmers, said paddy prices have been falling in the
current Boro season this year following imports from India.
He said the government will have to stop rice import immediately and purchase paddy and rice directly from the farmers from next month to safeguard them from the price debacle.
Affected farmers should be provided with cash subsidy in Aus, Aman and jute seasons, he said.
However, according to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), rice production stood at 34.465 million tonnes, potato 8.9 million tonnes, vegetables 10.0 million tonnes, wheat and maize combined 3.0 million tones and onion 1.65 million tonnes in the country in 2014---which is about 70-100 per cent growth in the last two decades.
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