Government’s initiative to procure paddy directly has brought smile on the farmers’ faces across the country.
Farmers said, as there is no intermediaries to snatch away the lion’s share of the government-fixed price this season, they are not being forced to sell their paddy at cheap rates.
“We farmers did not get the fair prices of our produces due to the intervention of middlemen who used to raise the prices illegally. As the government took appropriate steps immediately in this regard, we are now getting the fair price of paddy,” Milu Miah, a farmer of Panchagarh District said.
Meanwhile, the high command of the government warned unscrupulous traders, saying food grains including paddy manipulation would not be tolerated.
The government has taken various initiatives to ensure the fair price of agricultural products including paddy to improve living standard of farmers.
In order to serve the farmers’ interest, the government also reduced fertilizer price and launched a project worth Tk 415 crore to give subsidy to the farmers for buying agricultural machinery so that they can harvest crops at a reduced cost.
Besides, Department of Agricultural Extension is disbursing cash money as incentive among the small and marginal farmers across the country for cultivating wheat this Robi season.
According to the Agriculture Ministry sources, the government launched piloting of the online food procurement system in16 upazilas under 16 districts from November 20 to ensure fixed price for the growers and eliminate intermediaries.
The government will purchase paddy directly from the farmers of country’s rest of the upazilas through a lottery system.
The application contains various provisions, including online fixation of target of procurement of food for each upazila and making online registration and application by the farmers as well as providing SMS notifications to the farmers to sell their produces.
Such digitisation of food procurement system prevents the interference of intermediaries who deprived the farmers of availing of the actual price fixed by the government.
Apart from paddy, considering the interest of farmers growing potato, the government is mulling to export potatoes in huge quantities.
On the other hand, the government has reduced fertilizer price for the five times since 2009 with latest move to cut down the Di-Ammonium Phosphate (DAP) price by Taka 9 fixing at Taka 16 per kg from Taka 25.
The decision has been taken to revise the fertilizer price for maintaining sustainable and eco-friendly food security including reduction of food production cost, motivating farmers to use balanced fertilizer and boosting plants resistance power.
“And after completion of piloting, the online food procurement will be introduced across the country in the ensuing boro season,”an official of Agriculture Ministry said.
Earlier, farmers had to face various difficulties in selling their agricultural products due to organised syndicate of intermediaries.
The farmers urged the government to take steps enabling famers to get fair prices of their produces as they struggled with low prices.
They also urged the government to take action against the syndicates involved in cheating the farmers.
The government is procuring six lakh tonnes of Aman paddy directly from farmers at Taka 26 per kilogram from November 20 to February 28 next.
Besides, the government will buy 3.50 lakh metric of boiled rice from mill owners at Taka 36 per kg, while 50,000 tonnes of non-boiled (atap) rice will be procured from the millers at Taka 35 per kg.
After scrutinising the lists of upazila procurement committees, the paddy is being procured directly from the farmers as per the lists.
In Panchagarh, Aman paddy purchase directly from farmers has started at government food warehouse in Sadar Upazila of the district since Tuesday.
Lawmaker of Panchagarh-1 Constituency MazharulHaqueProdhan said a farmer could sell maximum one metric ton of paddy at Tk 26 per kg.
Later, two metric tons of paddies were purchased from Sanaullah and Abdul Malek, farmers of Panchagarh Municipality area.
District food office sources said, out of the total 12,144 MT of paddy, 3,063 MT would be procured from Sadar Upazila, 2,826 MT from Boda, 2,928 MT from Debiganj, 2,467 MT from Atwary, and 1,330 MT from Tentulia.