Only politics can bail them out

For years, farmers have been struggling to profit from paddy farming, and it is only politics that can help them out of this predicament.

"We can't really expect national decisions to aid farmers if they don't have a voice in parliament," said Altaf Parvez, an independent researcher and author of numerous books on Bangladesh and South Asian politics.

Even farmers' unions have become almost non-existent in political parties, which are mostly run by influential businessmen, he observed. 

"Paddy farmers can't profit because they do not have control over any aspects of the rice economy, except for the labour component," he said.

There are two major aspects of the rice economy -- firstly, the means of production, including land, seed, fertiliser, irrigation water, pesticides and labour; and secondly, the agricultural market system, which includes services required to get crops from the farm to the consumer.

"Besides, the agricultural input market and the agricultural market system are both run by syndicates that only care about making money and do not care about the farmers."

Asked why do the farmers not profit when all businesses related to rice farming do, Altaf said, "It is true that the government frequently intervenes to stabilise paddy or rice prices for the benefit of farmers, but farmers face greater hardships during cultivation rather than during harvest."

During cultivation, farmers struggle to procure seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation water, and other agricultural inputs at reasonable prices, the government needs to monitor the agricultural input market, he observed. 

"But, sadly, there's no real reason to be hopeful about farmers' welfare because they don't have a say in any decisions that are made in the agriculture sector.

When asked about the benefits of subsidies offered to the agricultural sector, Altaf responded that the real question is whether or not the farmers are receiving them.

"There is no systematic investigation into whether or not farmers are actually receiving subsidies and, if so, how much. Because if farmers are not receiving financial support in the form of subsidies, the initiative will not only fail to benefit them but will also be a complete waste of tax money."

"For instance," he said, "despite the government's efforts to modernise the sector by offering agricultural machinery at discounted prices, farmers are not reaping the long-term benefits of these machines due to a lack of after-sales support."

The benefits of the subsidy are, however, not lost on the authorised retailers who sell those machines. In fact, the retailers are the prime beneficiaries of the subsidies, he added.

He also said when it comes to seeds, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation does not control even half of the market, so farmers must purchase seeds from the private market at a premium price.

Therefore, he said, a reform of the entire market system is required.