BNP leaders and activists are voluntarily and without payment harvesting poor farmers' paddy and carrying it to their homes. The volunteer paddy-cutting programme was inaugurated at noon on Saturday (30 November) in the Chandpai area of Mongla by agriculturist Md Shamimur Rahman Shamim, research affairs secretary of the BNP central committee.

Speaking on the occasion, he said Shaheed President Ziaur Rahman, although head of state at the time, took up a spade with his own hands to dig canals for agriculture and devoted himself to helping farmers grow crops. Begum Khaleda Zia, while in power, waived the land tax on up to 25 bighas for farmers, he said. And the 31-point state reform plan of BNP acting chairman Tarique Rahman gives priority to agriculture and farmers, which is why BNP has stood by marginal farmers, he said.

Agriculturist Shamimur Rahman Shamim added that farmers spend a lot of money looking after their paddy, including preparing seed, ploughing, sowing, irrigation, and applying fertiliser and pesticide. In the end they struggle to pay day labourers even to harvest the paddy and bring it home. That is why leaders and activists of BNP and all its associate organisations are cutting these farmers' paddy and delivering it to their homes, which will benefit the farmers, he said.

He said local BNP leaders and activists are harvesting the ripe paddy of poor farmers in six unions of Mongla and bringing it to their homes.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.