Agricultural experts on Saturday asked the government to raise farm subsidy in the national budget for fiscal 2011-12 if it really wanted to achieve self sufficiency in food.
Speaking at a discussion they said it would be difficult for the government to achieve self sufficiency in food by slashing farm subsidy.
They also called for the introduction of crop insurance as early as possible.
The discussion on 'Agricultural sector in national budget: evaluation of agriculturists' was jointly organized by two NGOs, Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood and Nagorik Sanghati at Moni Singha-Farhad Smriti Trust auditorium in the city.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujubur Rahman Agricultural University vice-chancellor Md Abdul Mannan Akanda said that slashing farm subsidy was not at all justifiable.
He called for keeping the farm subsidy at least at the level of the outgoing fiscal year.
He called for raising the allocation to Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation to strengthen it.
He said that it would save the country's agriculture sector and thousands of crore Taka now spent to buy seeds from the multinational companies.
Agri-economist AM Muazzam Husain expressed serious concern over gradual loss of soil fertility.
He said that the government should specify steps in the budget it wanted to take to reverse the process of loss of crop land to other uses.
He called for putting in place a mechanism to monitor proper use of the agricultural credit.
He said that the government's faulty rice procurement system would only benefit the middlemen at the cost of the growers.
Bangladesh Agriculture University teacher Shankar Kumar Raha said that the Awami League led government had abandoned its political philosophy by reducing farm subsidy.
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council former director Gul Hossain criticised a government policy that requires BADC to buy seeds for the farmers.
He said the government asked BADC to increase seed production without strengthening its capacity or providing the needed manpower.
Chaired by Nagorik Sanghati general secretary Sharifuzzaman Sharif, the session was addressed by, among others, researcher Monwar Mostafa, agri-scientist Md Niazuddin Pasha and agriculturist Rafiqul Islam Chowdhury.
Source: New Age
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