Policy advocacy and research organization Unnayan Bikalper Nitinirdharoni Gobeshona (UBINIG) on Tuesday said the national budget for 2011-12 fiscal year did not reflect the farmers' interest.
They made the observation at a press conference on the proposed budget for FY2011-12 at the National Press Club.
UBINIG leader MA Sobhan, who read out an article at the conference, said that the agriculture sector was given an allocation of 5.4 per cent of the total budget in FY2010-11, but the allocation has been reduced to 4.7 per cent in the proposed budget for FY2011-12.
He said that the budget emphasized the supplying hybrid and modified seeds to the farmers in the name of providing developed varieties though hybrid and modified seeds were yet to be proved to be seeds of higher quality.
'The farmers do not want to cultivate hybrid seeds as their production is affected if there is any environmental problem in the season,' Sobhan said.
He said that agricultural production cost had increased in recent times and the farmers needed more help for production, suggesting that agricultural subsidy should be given to the farmers directly.
He opined that applying granular urea for increasing soil fertility would not bring any positive result and suggested for using organic fertilizers.
The proposed budget did not have any practical measure to solve the problems of jute, he alleged, adding that the country needed 5,000 to 5,500 tonnes of jute seeds of which more than half is imported from India.
The imported Indian seeds are of low quality and hence the country is producing low quality jute which means that it is only giving India the opportunity to continue their seed business in Bangladesh, he alleged.
UBINIG demanded for stopping introduction of hybrid paddy, encouraging local varieties that can tolerate local weather and climate change impacts, considering agricultural research as a priority sector and preserving environment and saving arable land by discouraging tobacco cultivation.
UBINIG executive director Farida Akhter and senior researcher Jahangir Alam Jony also spoke at the press conference.
Source : New Age
