DHAKA, May 27, 2021 (BSS) – Agriculture Minister Dr M Abdur Razzaque
today said the government is planning to take an initiative to provide
bank loans among the farmers for buying farm machineries as the
existing 50 to 70 percent subsidy by the government is not easy to
collect farm equipments for the farmers.
“Initiative is underway to provide soft bank loans among the
farmers for buying farm machineries as the government subsidy is not
enough for the growers to purchase such machineries at all,” he told
an online view exchange meeting with concerned stakeholders at the
ministry conference room here.
Presently the government is providing 50 to 70 percent subsidy to
the farmers for buying different agro-machineries including combine
harvester and reaper, he said.
But most of the cases, the farmers have to pay Taka 10 to 15 lakh
extra to buy a combine harvester and it is totally impossible for the
farmers to buy machinery, the minister told the meeting.
Dr Razzaque said, “Our main objective is to manufacture farm
machineries locally as most of the farm equipments are now being
imported. We want to reduce the import in future,” he said.
Even importance has been given to manufacture spare parts and
repairing factory locally for raising employment generation of the
local people, the minister noted. The minister urged the
manufacturers, builders and importers to participate in this venture.
Highlighting the government’s initiative of undertaking a farm
mechanization project with a cost of Taka 3,020 crore, the minister
said the government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken and
implementing various steps to modernize and make profitable of the
agriculture through farm mechanization.
Terming the project as a rare incident in the world, he said new
episode will introduce in the agriculture through the project.
“New revolution will take place … agriculture will be make
profitable and livelihood development of the rural people also would
be expedite,” he told the online meeting.
Chaired by Senior Agriculture Secretary M Mesbahul Islam, the
meeting also was attended, among others, by Additional Secretary Dr M
Abdur Rouf, Additional Secretary Wahida Akhter, Director General of
the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) M Asadullah, Director
of the Agriculture Machineries Project Benjir Alam, concerned
importers, manufacturers and builders.