Agri sector may get Tk 9,000cr subsidy
Finance minister AMA Muhith on Monday said the sectors that had been enjoying the tax holiday facility would enjoy it for another two years.
‘The sectors that have been enjoying the tax holiday facility up to this fiscal (FY 13) will enjoy it up to FY 2015. Later, the next government will think about it,’ he said.
Muhith was speaking at a function at his secretariat office in the afternoon.
At the function, media personality Shykh Seraj placed a 58-point recommendation on the agriculture sector before the finance minister to be considered for the new budget to be placed in the parliament on June 6.
About the demand for continuing subsidy in the agriculture sector, Muhith said subsidy in agriculture does not really mean subsidy. ‘It’s rather an investment.’
He also hinted that the sector was likely to get an allocation of around Tk 9,000 crore in the upcoming budget with some attention to the poultry and fisheries sectors.
The finance minister said the farmers were getting subsidy in diesel through their agri-input cards, and the government was planning to provide subsidy in fertiliser through these cards.
Although the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation has increased its seed production capacity, Muhith noted, it still cannot meet the country’s demand.
About ensuring due price of rice for the farmers, he said the government had not been able to ensure it fully and it would also be very hard to do in the future. ‘What the government does is fixing a price and then playing an important role in market stabilisation,’ he added.
While putting forward the recommendations, Shykh Seraj said the government should not reduce subsidy in agriculture. It should give
special attention to the poultry sector as they were yet to receive any incentive from the Tk 100 crore stimulus package announced in 2010 to revive this sector.
In the 58-point recommendation, 22 are for the agriculture sector, 13 for the poultry sector, 12 for the fisheries sector and 11 for the livestock and dairy industry.
This is for the ninth time Channel i, on behalf of its ‘Hridoye Mati o Manush’ programme, put forward its recommendations on agriculture budget before the government.
Since 2005, the ‘Hridoye Mati o Manush’ team had taken opinions of some 2 lakh farmers from 35 places to highlight their demands in the agriculture sector.
This time five open meetings took place in Rangpur, Natore, Munshiganj, Shariutpur and Tangail where ministers, including the finance minister himself, were present.
-With New Age input
