Country to face challenges of vast population

The total population of the country will rise up to 19 crore by 2021 which will create enormous crises if proper and pragmatic policies in agriculture and industrial sectors are not adopted soon.

The observation was made by speakers at a discussion meeting on 'golden jubilee in poverty free Bangladesh' organised by Protashya 2021 at the National Press Club yesterday.

The speakers said the vital challenge for the country is proper manipulation of its vast population with limited resources as population is increasing alarmingly but resources are not. According to the observation of the United Nation, country's total population will rise up to 19 crore by 2021. The target of achieving millennium development goal may be foiled if policies are not be adopted soon.

Around 80 percent people of the country are directly or indirectly involved with agriculture. People throughout the country are seriously affected by microfinance activities. Initiatives are taken by numbers of organisations but poverty could not be eradicated. In a move to free the country from poverty, hunger and corruption, government alongwith youths of the country, representative of different communities and development partners will have to look forward for setting up policies immediately, the speakers also said.

They further said like garments, country's leather, plastic, electronic and agro-based products as well as skilled manpower in these areas should be focused to different foreign countries. Good numbers of students have been completing studies every year but job opportunities for them are not increasing due to lack of updated and time-befitting policies. Politics, bureaucracy, nepotism and faulty and outdated education policies are creating a vacuum in different important sectors in the country. Awareness in these regards will have to be raised, they added.

AL lawmaker Asaduzzaman Noor said the government is committed to continue its efforts to free the country from poverty and hunger. Regarding demands of people and youth, he said it is easy to define determination but difficult to find out an individual who can work with determination, dedication and accountabilities. People will have to change their attitudes for becoming responsible persons.

Standard and quality of local level education is bad. Teachers at rural level schools are being appointed by managing committee members through exchanging bribe. These are happening also at higher level education institutions. As result, the vulnerability of education is increasing alarmingly.

"We will discuss about these issues during parliamentary standing committee meeting for finding out solutions. We will also take steps for achieving targets through proper and pragmatic policies," he added.

Source: The Bangladesh Today

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Traders reap benefits as paddy sells at low prices

Traders reap benefits as paddy sells at low prices

It is not the farmers, but the traders are reaping the benefits of public procurement of rice as the peasants are selling paddy at much lower prices than the government's fixed rate in this Boro season due to the present procurement system.

Rice millers and traders have already purchased good amounts of paddy from farmers at Tk 350-450 per maund for milling and selling to the government, which started buying rice at Tk 22 per kg, non-boiled (atap) rice at Tk 21 while paddy at Tk 14 from May 1.

Targeting 12 lakh tonnes to be procured by September, the government will buy 1.5 lakh tonnes paddy, 50,000 to 60,000 tonnes non-boiled rice while the rest will be normal rice. By this time, the government has procured only around 400 tonnes of paddy.

As per government price, each maund paddy should fetch Tk 560, but farmers in the major rice-growing northern districts are selling paddy at around Tk 400 while at Tk 450 in Comilla.

Though the government has fixed the comparatively high procurement prices this season to safeguard farmers' interests, agronomists said the subsidy will mainly go to the traders' pockets as the government is procuring rice and paddy mainly from the millers and traders.

Farmers said they are compelled to sell paddy to the traders and millers during the peak harvesting period to pay back their loans, which they took to buy agricultural inputs.

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