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Bumper Wheat Production in Thakurgaon

Growers deprived of fair price

UNB, Thakurgaon
The wheat growers of the district are being deprived of fair price of their produces allegedly due to a syndicate of businessmen and slow pace of procurement drive of the government.
The district this year saw a bumper production of wheat. Favourable weather, easy availability of fertiliser, proper irrigation facilities and proper nursing of the crop by the farmers helped achieve bumper production.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources said wheat was cultivated on 57,100 hectares of land in the district in the current season.
The department had set a target to produce 1,52,477 metric tons in the current season at the rate of 2.6 metric tons per hectare. However, it exceeded the target and the average production went up to 3.40 metric tons per hectare with a total output of 1,94,140 metric tons.
Different varieties of wheat were cultivated in the district. Of them, Prodip variety was cultivated on 46 percent land, Bijoy on 23 percent, Swarna on 15 percent, Shatabdi on 10 percent and others on 6 percent land.
Deputy Director of DAE Belayet Hossain said that the district falls in the best wheat growing zone in the country because of its soil condition, and better irrigation facilities. In the current season, the district achieved a bumper production of wheat, he added.
During a visit to Farabarihat, Chowdhuryhat and Khochabarihat a few days ago, this correspondent found that wheat was selling at Tk 725 to 740 per maund (40 kg a maund) which was far below the procurement price.
The government had declared the procurement price of wheat at Tk 24 per kilogram i.e. Tk 960 per maund which is far above the market price.
District Controller of Food Raihanul Kabir said that the department this year decided to procure 16,121 metric tons of wheat in the district.
He further said that the procurement drive that started on April 1 would continue up to June 30.
Raihanul Kabir further said that in order to give incentive to the farmers and to build up buffer stock, the government is procuring wheat through upazila procurement monitoring committees. The committees gave targets
and directions to the union committees to issue supply slips to the farmers.
General secretary of Thakurgaon District Krishak Samity Ismail Ali, however, said that the farmers are not getting fair price of wheat as the market price is far less than the production cost. The government would procure only 8 percent of the total production in the district which would not create any impact on the market, he added.
He alleged that the genuine farmers cannot supply wheat to the procurement centres as they cannot collect of supply slips from the local union monitoring committees.
He further alleged that the union committees, in collaboration with the ruling party leaders, are selling the supply slips to the wheat traders depriving the farmers.
A farmer at village Dakkhin Batina under Sadar upazila said despite repeated requests to the authorities concerned he could not manage a supply slip though he had harvested about 100 maunds of wheat.
Like him, a large number farmers of the district are not getting supply slips and hence the farmers are being deprived of fairprice ofwheat, hesaid.