Each farmer to get minimum Tk 100 as diesel subsidy
Rejaul Karim Byron
The government will provide a minimum diesel subsidy of Tk 100 for each farmer through the local block supervisors, according to a draft guideline prepared by the agriculture ministry.Farmers, who currently use 13 lakh deep and shallow diesel pumps across the country, will receive the subsidy for irrigating their croplands in the Boro season. The finance ministry has already okayed the guideline, sources said. The agriculture ministry also has plans to formulate another draft guideline for distributing subsidised fertiliser through 'card-rationing' system. According to finance ministry figures, a 21 percent hike in diesel prices by the government in April has pushed up the cost of producing a kilogram of rice by Tk 0.50. In addition, the government plans to introduce an automatic price formula for petroleum products next fiscal year, to allow local prices to better respond to international market forces. In the budget speech last Thursday, Finance Adviser Mirza Azizul Islam said, "relevant guidelines have been framed to adjust the domestic price of petroleum products with the price changes in international market." "A committee envisaged in the guidelines will review the price of petroleum products from time to time and advise the government on making appropriate adjustments," he added in the budget speech. To compensate farmers for possible blows resulting from the automatic price formula, the government has allocated Tk 750 crore in diesel subsidies and Tk 1,500 crore in fertiliser subsidies in the proposed budget for financial year 2007-2008. The block supervisors, together with the local union parishad members, will draw up a list of the farmers to receive the diesel subsidy. However, this list must be approved by the upazila agriculture committee, headed by upazila executive officer. Farmers will be given a minimum of Tk 100 in diesel subsidy and according to the size of their irrigated land. The agriculture ministry is creating the new fertiliser disbursement policy with a view to curb mismanagement in distribution and fertiliser smuggling, sources said. According to the draft guideline, fertiliser will also be disbursed through the block supervisors by card-rationing system. A dealer would also be appointed for each union to give out the fertiliser, sources said.
| 
