Govt gives huge subsidy to farmers

Staff Correspondent: Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque yesterday said that Prime Minister (PM) Sheikh Hasina has been continuously giving huge amount of money as subsidy and incentive in the agriculture sector in order to benefit the farmers of the country.
“The government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been giving huge amount of money as subsidy and incentive continuously in the agriculture sector in order to benefit the farmers of the country by reducing the cost of production,” he said.
The minister was speaking at a virtual seminar titled ‘Paribarik Krish O Krishok: Sarkar O Nagorik Somaj er Koronio’ from his official residence here as the chief guest.
Highlighting that the government is continuously adopting and implementing agri-friendly policies to make agriculture profitable, the minister said the present government is doing so for the farmers as most of the farmers in the country are small, marginal and sharecroppers.
Fertilizer prices have already been reduced four times to reduce production costs, he said, adding that fertilizer prices in Bangladesh are now much lower than in neighboring countries.
The government has also made irrigation, seeds and other agricultural materials available in the country to ease the difficulties of the farmers, he added.
Besides,, 50-70 percent subsidy is being given to the farmers for various agricultural instruments for cutting and threshing paddy and other agri related works.
Noting that paddy cultivation is now profitable, the minister further said that as a result of timely initiatives of the government including provision of these incentives and tariffs on rice imports, farmers are getting good price of paddy for the last few years.
Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and ‘Daily Bonik Barta’ organized the seminar where ALRD Chairperson Khushi Kabir and Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) central leader Ruhin Hossain Prince also spoke, among others.