Shamim Jahangir
The next political government will distribute cash diesel subsidy of Tk 540 crore among small and marginal Boro cultivators next year, according to sources in the Ministry of Agriculture sources.
Earlier, the incumbent caretaker government determined the size of the diesel subsidy.
The amount of diesel subsidy and the number of the farmers will also be raised this time following the recommendation of the field level officials of the ministry, sources added.
The Ministry of Agriculture has formed a high-powered committee to prepare a list of the farmers who are using diesel-powered irrigation pumps for Boro cultivation across the country.
“We are preparing the list of pump users in accordance with the beneficiaries of last year,” a senior official of agriculture ministry said adding the list of beneficiaries will be revised upward and updated keeping in view the increasing number of Boro farmers.
He further said that the list is expected be completed by February next year.
The caretaker government introduced cash subsidy for the farmers using diesel-powered irrigation pumps for the first time this year as an incentive. Tk 250 crore was distributed among 65,93, 872 farmers covering 45,63,000 acres of land under 484 upazilas.
A farmer was given a subsidy of Tk 180 having .33 acres of land each against his diesel cost of Tk 1,500.
The government targeted 46.75 lakh hectares of land for the production of 1.80 crore tonnes of Boro paddy this year. Of the total target, 35.5 lakh hectares will be cultivated for the production of high yielding variety of paddy, 10 lakh hectares for hybrid variety and 1.25 hectares for local variety.
The Boro cultivation season began from October 24 and will continue till March 15, according to sources.
Courtesy: nation.ittefaq.com
