President Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir on Sunday called upon farmers to form a central organization at the national level to ensure their overall development and protect interests, irrespective of party affiliation, opinion or path.
The president made the call as an eight-member delegation of the Bangladesh Farmers Association, led by its President Md Siddiqur Rahman Kul Moyez, paid a courtesy call on him at Bangabhaban.
The president said farmers are the real and finest people of the country. "They are the warriors who build the country. To honour and inspire these farmers, an initiative will be taken to introduce the President's Agriculture Award for new innovations and outstanding contributions in the agriculture sector," he said.
He also assured the farmers of all-out cooperation and advised them to communicate at the highest level, and called for turning the interests of farmers into a movement.
"Agriculture remains the most progressive sector of the country. Due to hard work of farmers, the development of new high-yielding varieties and agricultural technologies, and the proper use of technology, crop production has increased manifold," he said.
He added that farmers do not engage in corruption rather they contribute to the progress of society and the state. The president called for developing effective marketing system so that agricultural products and crops can easily reach consumers and farmers receive fair price.
"The incumbent government has introduced a new scheme for ensuring fair prices for agricultural products and the development of farmers, and Tk3,000 crore has already been allocated," he observed.
"The government has also waived agricultural loans, including interest, of up to Tk10,000 for farmers," he said, assuring that initiatives would be taken to reduce interest rates on loans taken from NGOs.
At the time, he highlighted various initiatives taken by the government for the development of agriculture and farmers including arranging agricultural loans at low interest.
