Why should govt. assistance package exclude Boro farmers?

The government's relief package of Tk 5,000 crore for the agriculture sector surprisingly does not cover crop and cereal producers such as Boro cultivators, even though Boro accounts for more than 50 percent of the country's total rice production. The agriculture ministry justified its decision saying that it's too late to aid Boro cultivation. However, experts and farmers disagree, saying that it's only in the haor region of Sylhet division where Boro harvest has already begun. In other parts of the country, the crop will be harvested next month.

The assistance that the government refused to provide could have helped small farmers the most, who account for 78.62 percent of farmers, according to data from the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics. The fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic is set to cause huge losses for the farmers many of whom are already getting discouraged from continuing farming amidst such losses.

One major concern during any crisis, as also portrayed by this one, is a potential food shortage. And it is always the farmers who we rely on to save us when such circumstances arise. Yet, for whatever reason, the government is once again failing them. If farmers are forced out of business or discouraged from continuing to farm, how will the country's population manage in a crisis situation when importing food becomes impossible? The short-sightedness of the government and its failure to aid Boro farmers, particularly given the existing reality, is a major let-down.

It isn't only a lack of cash incentive that agricultural producers and experts are worried about. Farmers are facing a host of other problems concerning loans, manpower, machinery, etc. And the government should have ensured that farmers have all the necessary assistance right now, no matter how much it has on its plate.

The government needs to wake up to the current reality. It needs to take into account the advice of farmers who are actually the ones we all depend on for our food security. Accordingly, it should provide immediate assistance to Boro cultivators.