Why is this neglect of agriculture?

RECENTLY a news item, along with a photograph appeared in a newspaper, showing a farmer feeding his cow with potato. The reason for that is bumper production of potato for which the selling price of potato came down to Tk. 2.0 to Tk. 3.0 per kg in many interior parts of the country. The price of potato did not even suffice for meeting the transportation cost of the farmer in order to take the product to the nearest market. In the city, we are buying potato at Tk. 12 to 16 per kilogram. Then, who is taking the huge margin at the cost of the farmers and the consumers? Is it very difficult to stop this malpractice? Having no place to store, the farmer had no other alternative but to feed the cattle with potato. Simultaneously, in another photograph appearing in a section of the print media, it was shown that farmers were compelled to store their stock in small bushes to avoid rotting as no facility in the cold storages was available to them. All these pieces of news are appalling. If this is the situation, the farmers who are virtually feeding the hundred and sixty million people of the country, would lose interest in agricultural production. This will multiply our food shortage. We want to know what steps the ministry of agriculture has taken to save the product and the farmers. Instead of providing incentives to those farmers, the authority concerned has remained absolutely silent on their problems. This is unfortunate. Whereas, whenever there is a fall in the prices of stocks, the entire government machinery starts moving to come to the aid of the notorious share-traders who come out on the streets and vandalize vehicles and public properties, without any noticeable resistance from the law enforcing agencies. Who has given them the licence to take resort to arson for the situation which was largely created by their own fault? We are dismayed at the government's actual or promised injection of millions of takas -- the public money -- into the share market, only to be plundered again by the unscrupulous agencies. Nowhere in the world there is a single instance of state-sponsored 'bail-out' for the bourses. Only banks were rescued from going bankrupt by providing various bail-out packages. We do not know in whose interest the government machinery is working in our country. It is a pity that no responsible circle in the government has come out with any move or bail-out packages to assist those poor farmers who are actively engaged in the production of food items that we desperately need to feed our teeming millions. The amount of publicity the share market-fall draws from the media and other government sources is huge. But no agency is unfortunately bothered about the difficulties of the farmers whose contribution to the national economy is phenomenal. Agriculture is the major contributor to the country's gross domestic product (GDP). This amounts to something around 20.00 per cent during the last fiscal year. But rise-and-fall of share prices does not otherwise have any contribution to our GDP growth. The share prices, among other issues, are intentionally manipulated by the powerful share-traders to reap illegal windfall profits. Why more importance is given to the share market compared to country's agriculture is now anybody's guess. The writer can be reached at e-mail: mahoque07@gmail.com