Support farmers for an economic rebound

The US election, pandemic and unbridled corruption of Bangladesh have perhaps left a little room for thinking about the farmers, the undermined group of society. Everyone talks about students, teachers, garment sector but farmers remain the unsung hero. Along with other products, the price of onions and potatoes has gone up significantly. Instead of heavily relying on imported foods, can't we back our farmers in order to get rid of economic downturn and its accompanying price hike? It seems beyond doubt that empowering farmers could be a key to reinvigorating economy.  

The Indian Directorate General of Foreign Trade(DGFT)imposed an export ban on the export of all varieties of onion a couple of months ago. Bangladesh, as a result, cannot find a way to meet its onion needs of its population resulting in abrupt price hikes. Whereas managing everyday expenses has been difficult for many folks because of job and economic crisis caused by the pandemic, the price hike has put an addition strain on their lives.

Ironically, for farmers, this suffering is two-fold. Although Agriculture has seen a sharp fall amidst this pandemic, this sector is contributing a large portion to Bangladesh's economy consistently over the past few years. According to the Bangladesh Economic Survey-2019, the per cent of the contribution of agriculture was 10.11 per cent to the GDP growth of the country.
According to another report  by Trading Economics, GDP from Agriculture in Bangladesh increased to BDT 10739.10 Million in 2019 from BDT 10468.80 Million in 2018. The revenue from the sector has soared to BDT 10,739 Million in 2019 from BDT 9515 in 2014, a rise of BDT 1,224 Million.  

Evidently, farmers play a central role to the country's economy. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak, they are in crisis ,and hardly taken care of by governmental or non-governmental organizations.  In fact, for a sustainable economic growth and for minimizing the high price of essentials, there is no alternative than to fund the agricultural sector, thereby assisting farmers.

It is a matter of regret that farmers have faced huge losses due to lockdowns triggered by Covid-19. A recent study carried out by BRAC reveals that farmers have experienced loss of BDT 565.36 billion (USD 6.66 billion) in one and half months between March and May during the public holiday announced to curb the coronavirus outbreak.  

Furthermore, flooding has caused huge losses for farmers as croplands have been submerged under water. According to a report, the floods damaged myriads crops including jute, rice and vegetables worth Tk1,323 crores in the country as the floods submerged some 1.59 lakh hectares of agricultural land in 37 districts of the country in three phases. This affected a total of 127,2,151 farmers, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.

What is even worse is that dairy farmers alone have faced loss of Tk400 crore because of the pandemic. Therefore, it leads farmers to the verge of despair since they have received little support to bounce back from the setbacks which emerged from the epidemic. Nonetheless, in order to get a sustainable economy back following huge losses in agriculture sector, standing by farmers is significantly pivotal.

Looking back to the history of Bangladesh, in the post-independence period the great leader of the history of Bangladesh, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman focused on Agriculture to lift the economy. Bangabandhu's upgrade of the agricultural diploma holders to first class and the establishment of the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Centre (BARC) are reflections of this. Likewise, in order for the economy to thrive in the post-pandemic period, farmers have to be fostered and supported to help agriculture and thus the economy to recover.

Unless farmers are backed up and well-supported at this critical period, it is highly likely to result in food scarcity, price hikes and economic deterioration, deepening the crisis for citizens. On top of that, more than 70 percent of Bangladesh's population live in rural areas. Nearly half of all Bangladesh's workers overall, and two-thirds in rural areas are directly employed by agriculture, according to a data revealed by the World Bank. Hence, with a view to eliminating the suffering of the poor, ensuring support during this tough time is of paramount importance.

It is, therefore, necessary to make concrete plans to help farmers to overcome disruptive impacts resulting from the coronavirus. Notably, a breakthrough in the economy requires helping farmers with strong support at this time. This will, on the one hand, help reduce the unemployment problem, keeping the price of essential commodities affordable, and, on the other hand, leading the country to economic growth despite the pandemic. Let's empower the farmers to empower our economy in order to bounce back from the setbacks that the novel coronavirus has posed.
Mahde Hassan is a student, Department of English,
East West University