Govt subsidising farmers defying directives of donors: Minister

Government is subsidising agriculture sector by defying the dictation from donor agencies and development partners, said Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzaque.

“Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is making farmers beneficiary of the subsidies which have been reducing their production cost,” he said.

Minister said this in a webinar titled “Family Farming and Farmers: Duties of Government and Civil Society” on Saturday.

”Most of our farmers are small and sharecropper. So for their wellbeing, government is taking and implementing farmer-friendly policies to make agriculture a profitable business. As the government reduced the fertiliser price, so the agricultural input became cheaper than neighbouring countries at present. The government also facilitated the irrigation, seeds and other agricultural inputs. Farm subsidy went up to 70 per cent in rice harvesting, husking and other machineries, the minister added.

“Farmers have been getting fare price of rice for last several years as the government is taking steps and slapped import tax on rice,” he added.

Minister urged the private sector to come forward to make mango, pineapple and vegetables farming profitable. The Association for Land Reform and Development (ALRD) and The Daily Bonik Barta organised the webinar.