Help for agro-entrepreneurs

It is welcome news that the ministry of agriculture is contemplating setting up a special cell to help new entrepreneurs with techniques of modern cultivation and effective marketing of agricultural goods. Such steps would promote and boost the sector and contribute further to the country’s economic development.

 The experts of the proposed cell will help farmers to learn new methods at every stage from tilling land, sowing seeds, harvesting, husking and finally marketing of the goods in an orderly manner. The idea was discussed in a day-long conference, titled Bhorosar Notun Janala, at Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) in the capital organized by Bangladesh Safe Agro Food Efforts (BSAFE) Foundation in association with United Commercial Bank Limited. Around 150 farmers from 34 districts across the country took part in the events.

It is further encouraging to note that the ministry will set up a modern laboratory in the Purbachal area soon so that agro goods can be exported to different counties following testing by experts.

Agriculture still remains on the centre stage of Bangladesh’s economy and depends largely on its better performance all the year round. In the year 2020, the share of agriculture in our GDP was 12.65 per cent, hence the sector demands full attention of the planners and experts for its wellbeing. The national budget for the 2021-22 fiscal year has raised the allocation for the Agriculture Ministry by Tk759 crore from Tk15,442 crore in the outgoing fiscal year to Tk16,201crore. And to face the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the budget has also proposed Tk9,500 crore in farm subsidies. The budget will provide funds for the Department of Agricultural Extension, the Seed Certification Agency, the Agricultural Information Service, the Department of Agricultural Marketing, Soil Resource Development Institute, Cotton Development Board, and the National Agricultural Training Academy.

Keeping its focus on getting better yield of crops and reducing wastage, the government has been taking measures   to popularise mechanisation of the agriculture sector among the farmers. As a result, we see more and more use of modern harvesters on the farmlands across the country. At the same time, the ministry concerned is showing interest in increasing the usage of hybrid crops across the country. These steps are aimed at achieving the production targets and ensuring the much needed food security. We may point at the example of the growth of rice production in the country to emphasise the benefits of modernisation of agriculture. Rice output has gone up from around 12 million metric tonnes in the late 1970s to more than 36 million metric tonnes today. This 3-fold increase was possible because of using better seeds, fertilizer, irrigation water and farm machinery.

Experts are of the opinion that agricultural entrepreneurs who will process fruits, vegetables, produce dairy and dairy products, could be offered tax rebate and other packages as incentive. Also the huge potential for producing import substitute agricultural products in the country and thereby saving our valuable foreign currency should be explored by the entrepreneurs. Besides, through diversification and raising the standard of their products, farmers will be able to grab a share of the overseas markets. At the same time, the warehouses for storing agricultural products need to be   modernised to avoid destruction and loss.  

This needs to be mentioned that Bangladesh has a good number of agriculture scientists who are devotedly working to discover new varieties of crops. Experts have suggested introducing climate friendly sustainable rice and in response our scientists have come up with new varieties of rice to survive in the flood, drought and salinity prone areas.

Agriculture continues to be the sector that employs 40 percent of the labour force of the country. Therefore, pragmatic policies aimed at the wellbeing of this huge segment of the population should be taken up by the government. They will need an effective social safety network and timely department action for protection against negative impacts of climate change.

The policy to offer entrepreneurs guidelines for investing and learning the proper methods of cultivation should become popular among the youths at a time when conventional jobs are gradually shrinking in the country.