Twenty-nine prominent citizens have called on the government to revise the procurement prices it set for paddy and rice this aman season. In a statement on 10 November, reported by Prothom Alo, they said the prices were fixed unilaterally, without talking to farmers, and are lower than market rates.
On 8 November the government announced a target of 850,000 tonnes of paddy and rice for the aman season: 300,000 tonnes of paddy bought directly from farmers at 35 taka a kilogram, 500,000 tonnes of parboiled rice at 49 taka and 50,000 tonnes of sun-dried (atap) rice at 48 taka.
The statement says the paddy price is 1 taka a kilogram higher than last year, but the prices of parboiled and atap rice are 1 taka lower, while fertiliser, diesel and irrigation have all become dearer and fertiliser is in short supply. By their reckoning farmers' production costs are up 15 to 20 percent, and none of this was taken into account.
With the official price below the market, they warn, genuine farmers will lose money. Many grow their crop on borrowed money and will struggle to absorb the loss, and the effect could carry over into the coming boro season.
The signatories want farmer representatives consulted before prices are set, drawn from different agro-ecological zones and including women, Indigenous, small and marginal farmers. They also ask for price support and subsidies for small, medium, marginal and women farmers as needed, at least a doubling of the aman procurement target, strict monitoring of its delivery, and an end to the grip of middlemen, brokers and corruption.
Among those who signed are Sultana Kamal, Khushi Kabir, Anu Muhammad, Iftekharuzzaman, Shaheen Anam, Robaet Ferdous, Pavel Partha and Rezaul Karim Chowdhury.
Photo: Balaram Mahalder / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Source: Prothom Alo
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