Tk47,332cr proposed for agro sector

The government has planned to ensure food security by increasing domestic production. To achieve this goal, agriculture sector allocation in the budget for FY25 has been set at 5.9 per cent of the total budget.

At the same time, it has been proposed to keep the import duty of essential products, including fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides, involved in agricultural production unchanged.

For this reason, Finance Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali has proposed to increase the allocation by 8 per cent compared to the current budget, where the total budget allocation has increased by 4.62 per cent.

He has proposed Tk 47,332 crore allocation for the agriculture sector for the upcoming FY25, which accounts for only 5.9 per cent of the total budget. This allocation includes funds for the agriculture, fisheries & livestock, land, environment, and water resources ministries.

In FY24, 5.74 per cent of the total budget was allocated to the agriculture sector.

The percentage – 5.9 per cent – denoted in the proposed FY25 budget is slightly more than that of the proposed FY24 budget, but Tk 8,670 crore less than the FY24 revised budget of Tk 56,002 crore.

Over the last decade, the amount allocated to the agriculture sector has nearly been halved. In the national budget for the FY14, this sector received 11 per cent.

In the FY25 budget proposal, out of the total agriculture sector allocation, Tk 27,214 crore has been allocated for the Ministry of Agriculture, which is 3.41 per cent of the total budget. The remaining 2.49 per cent was allocated to the ministries of fisheries and livestock, environment, forest & climate change, land, and water resources.

In FY24, Tk 43,700 crore was allocated to the agriculture sector. However, Tk 25,000 crore was assigned to the agriculture ministry, which had represented only 3.33 per cent of the total budget.

The remaining 2.41 per cent was allocated to the ministries of fisheries & livestock, environment, forest & climate change, land, and water resources.

In his budget speech on Thursday, the finance minister said, “Agriculture remains one of our priorities. Therefore, it has recommended to maintain the current duty rates on the import of key inputs for the agricultural sector, including fertilisers, seeds, and pesticides.

“I also recommend keeping the duty rates on essential food items unchanged.”