Badrul Alam, President of Bangladesh Krishak Federation and Member Secretary of Pragatisheel Krishok Sangram Parishad read out a written statement at the press conference presided over by Sultan Ahmed Biswas, convener of Bangladesh Chashi Samiti and leader of Pragatisheel Krishok Sangram Parishad. The conference was attended by Kamruzzam Fossi, Joint Secretary of National Krishak Jote, Zayed Iqbal Khan, General Secretary of Bangladesh Krishok Federation, AAM Fayez Hossain, President of Bangladesh Krishak Sabha, Omoli Kisku, President of Bangladesh Adivasi Samiti, Rehana Begum, Vice President of Bangladesh Krishok Federation and Yusuf Ali, leader of Bangladesh Landless Association. Ashamoni, leader of Bangladesh Kishani Sabha, Monowara Begum, leader of Bangladesh Bhumihin Samiti, Shibli Anwar, general secretary of Samagra Bangla Krishok Samiti and farmer leader Ahmed Hossain Bhuiyan.

In a written statement, the leaders said that the budget for the fiscal year 2022-23 will be announced in the National Assembly on June 9. This time too, maybe a conventional budget will be prepared like every year. Farmers’ rights / demands are always ignored in the conventional budget. The fair share of the farmer is never guaranteed.

But the agricultural sector is in fact the main sector of our economy. The importance of agriculture has been proved anew in the pandemic COVID 19. Agriculture has saved different countries of the world including Bangladesh during Corona crisis. Therefore, agriculture demands the highest importance in the national budget.

The main goal of the national budget should be to reduce inequality between rich and poor. In order to do this, income inequality between people of different professions must be reduced. But we see that every year a budget is made which makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. We have to get out of the culture of budgeting to kill such poor people.

We also see that every year the budget bears the imprint of the donor’s prescription. As a result, privatization, trade liberalization, etc. are given priority in the budget as a reflection of neo-liberalization. In response, our government services and industrial establishments are being privatized. As a result, the income of millions of unemployed workers and related farming families has become uncertain forever.

Extreme instability has occurred in Bangladesh’s economy due to the Ukraine war. Under the pressure of inflation, public life has taken a breather. The steady rise in commodity prices has gone beyond the purchasing power of the common men. People are terrified of the terrible days ahead. We want a way out of this situation. So the government has to adopt a proper plan.

Recently, huge areas of Haor region have been inundated due to landslides in Sylhet and Sunamganj, causing severe damage to crops of farmers. Almost every year the mountain landslide organizes floods in this area. The government should have a specific policy to deal with such flood situation.

At the press conference, considering the overall situation of the country, 21 points were presented in the interest of the farmers:

1. 15% of the national budget for the coming fiscal year 2022-23 should be allocated to agriculture sector;

2. 10 thousand crore Taka should be allocated for the development of agro-industry by emphasizing the importance of agri-entrepreneurs and cooperatives;

3. Reduce imports of agricultural products and give utmost importance to domestic production;

4. The budget should allocate funds for easy disbursement of loans to farmers;

5. Necessary measures should be taken in the budget for digging canals and rivers and preventing river erosion in the interest of agricultural development;

6. Adequate archives, such as modern warehouses and silos should be constructed in each district to preserve agricultural crops;

7. Separate budget allocations should be made for hill and plain indigenous;

8. Separate budget allocations should be made for Haor, Char, Barind, Salinity, Climate Change Affected Areas and Flood Affected Areas;

9. All farmers above the age of sixty should be allocated in the budget to pay pensions like government officials and employees;

10. Farmers need to build separate hospitals for treatment;

11. Allocations to social security programs need to be increased;

12. Budget allocations must be made to promote environmentally friendly sustainable agriculture;

13. Budget should be allocated to reopen closed jute mills and sugar mills through timely reforms;

14. To ensure profitability of agricultural crops;

15. Urgent action needs to be taken to control abnormal commodity prices;

16. Effective measures must be taken to curb excessive inflation;

16. Extremely rapid relief needs to be provided in flood prone areas including Sylhet and Sunamganj;

16. Introduce rationing system for people of all walks of life;

19. Adequate budget should be allocated for agriculture as well as production of vegetables, fish, livestock and poultry;

20 The price of electricity cannot be increased in any way in the interest of agricultural production;

21. It is necessary to increase the ongoing subsidy in the agricultural sector and make arrangements for direct payment to the farmers.

News sender
Badrul Alam
Member Secretary
Bangladesh Pragatisheel Krishok Sangram Parishad