WB suggests study on farm sector subsidy
Sunday, 25 November 2007
Shakhawat Hossain
The World Bank (WB) has suggested that the caretaker government conduct a study on subsidy provided to the country's agricultural sector, said a senior Ministry of Agricultural (MoA) official.
"The agricultural ministry has been instructed to conduct a study on the subsidy at the advice of the World Bank," the official told the FE on condition of anonymity.
The instruction, according to the official, came from the chief adviser's office after the visit by the WB president Robert B. Zoellick in the capital early this month.
The official, however, did not elaborate on the necessity behind such a study nor the views of the country's major development partner about the agricultural sector that contributes around 22 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP).
Quoting the latest World Development Report (WDR) released October last, officials of the agricultural ministry said the WB has estimated at least 4.0 per cent growth of the agriculture sector a year is necessary for Bangladesh to achieve the objective of halving its extreme poverty by 2015.
"Achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving poverty to 26.5 per cent by 2015 will require a growth rate of at least 4.0 per cent in agriculture and 7.0 per cent in the non-farm sector" said the WDR.
To realise the goal, the WB report titled 'Agriculture for Development' has called for greater investment in agriculture in developing countries and warns that the sector must be placed at the centre of the development agenda if the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realised.
The report says the agricultural and rural sectors have suffered from neglect and underinvestment over the past 20 years.
Sources said the WB, committed to providing some US$ 20 million as technical assistance to the country's agricultural sector in the current fiscal, has hinted more assistance for the agricultural sector.
According to the agricultural ministry, a fund worth Tk 41.99 billion has been embarked in the current fiscal as agricultural subsidy.
The highest amount of Tk 15.0 billion has been kept for fertilisers and power subsidy to the farmers. Exports of agricultural products and agro-processed foods will share substantial amount of cash subsidy worth Tk 11.00 billion.
The government has kept Tk 7.85 billion for procurement of agricultural products to run various social programmes for the poor and vulnerable.
It has also kept for the first time an amount of Tk 7.50 billion in the budgetary allocation as diesel subsidy.
The World Bank (WB) has suggested that the caretaker government conduct a study on subsidy provided to the country's agricultural sector, said a senior Ministry of Agricultural (MoA) official.
"The agricultural ministry has been instructed to conduct a study on the subsidy at the advice of the World Bank," the official told the FE on condition of anonymity.
The instruction, according to the official, came from the chief adviser's office after the visit by the WB president Robert B. Zoellick in the capital early this month.
The official, however, did not elaborate on the necessity behind such a study nor the views of the country's major development partner about the agricultural sector that contributes around 22 per cent to the gross domestic product (GDP).
Quoting the latest World Development Report (WDR) released October last, officials of the agricultural ministry said the WB has estimated at least 4.0 per cent growth of the agriculture sector a year is necessary for Bangladesh to achieve the objective of halving its extreme poverty by 2015.
"Achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of halving poverty to 26.5 per cent by 2015 will require a growth rate of at least 4.0 per cent in agriculture and 7.0 per cent in the non-farm sector" said the WDR.
To realise the goal, the WB report titled 'Agriculture for Development' has called for greater investment in agriculture in developing countries and warns that the sector must be placed at the centre of the development agenda if the goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realised.
The report says the agricultural and rural sectors have suffered from neglect and underinvestment over the past 20 years.
Sources said the WB, committed to providing some US$ 20 million as technical assistance to the country's agricultural sector in the current fiscal, has hinted more assistance for the agricultural sector.
According to the agricultural ministry, a fund worth Tk 41.99 billion has been embarked in the current fiscal as agricultural subsidy.
The highest amount of Tk 15.0 billion has been kept for fertilisers and power subsidy to the farmers. Exports of agricultural products and agro-processed foods will share substantial amount of cash subsidy worth Tk 11.00 billion.
The government has kept Tk 7.85 billion for procurement of agricultural products to run various social programmes for the poor and vulnerable.
It has also kept for the first time an amount of Tk 7.50 billion in the budgetary allocation as diesel subsidy.