Empower small farmers

Eminent economists have suggested empowering small farmers so that they can ensure fair price for their produce, spurring rural economy and cutting poverty and hunger.

They said providing low-cost credit, technology to preserve produce, and infrastructure to better market their produce can help farmers, particularly small and marginalised, in getting fair price.

They were addressing a seminar on food security, hunger and malnutrition organised by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in the BARC auditorium yesterday. 

Small and marginal farmers comprise about 80 percent of Bangladesh's 2.87 crore farm households. However, low prices of agriculture produces still remain a major concern.

"Small farmers are often forced to sell their produce at a low cost immediately after the harvest to repay loans," said Dr Mirza Azizul Islam, former finance adviser to a caretaker government. 

Azizul said the price gap between what farmers get and what consumers pay is very high.

Farmers' access to low-cost credit can help in this regard, he said.

Economist Dr Hossain Zillur Rahman, also former adviser to a caretaker government, believes the middlemen, who are basically extreme rural poor, have always been "demonised" here.  

He said instead of blaming them, authorities need to provide incentives to the farmers to make them more capable in dealing in the market.

Kostas G Stamoulis, director of Agriculture Development Economics Division at FAO Headquarters, in a presentation said Bangladesh has done quite well in terms of food productivity policy frameworks.

However, he noted, 26 million people in Bangladesh are still undernourished, while over 30 percent children under the age of five are underweight.

Pally Karma Shahayak Foundation Chairman Dr Quazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said climate change is posing a great threat to the country's agriculture. Unless the farmers can adapt to the changes, it will be difficult to sustain the progress already made, he added.

Planning Commission's General Economics Division Senior Member Dr Shamsul Alam emphasised women's participation in the labour force.

He said currently male participation is 82 percent, but female participation is 43 percent.

Dr Sajjad Zohir, executive director of Economic Research Group; Mike Robson, FAO representative in Bangladesh; and Dr Abul Kalam Azad, executive chairman of BARC, also spoke.