Staff Correspondent

The government has earmarked Taka 25,122 crore for the agriculture especially the crop sector in the proposed national budget for 2023-24 fiscal which is only 3.29 percent of the total budget outlay.

Of the proposed allocation, Taka 20,774 crore 51 lakh has been proposed for operating and the rest Taka 4,347 crore and 97 lakh for the development purpose.

In 2022-23, the allocation for the agriculture sector was Taka 24,224 crore and it was increased to Taka 33,810 crore in the revised budget of 2022-23.

While presenting the budget, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal said “I am proposing to allocate Tk 35,374 crore for the agriculture sector (agriculture, food and fisheries and livestock) in the FY2023-24 which was Tk 33,698 crore in FY2022-23”.

Due to the agro-friendly policies, the production of rice, maize, potato, vegetables and fruits including other crops is continuously increasing.

“We have increased the cultivation of high-yielding varieties of crops. For the mechanisation of the agricultural sector, we will be supplying 51,300 pieces of farm machinery.

70 percent of the cost in the haor and coastal areas and 50 percent in other areas will be covered as development aid”, he said, adding Synchronized Cultivation has been introduced to prepare, transplant and harvest rice seedlings using the benefits provided by mechanisation in the agricultural sector.

“We have taken initiatives to plant short duration rice variety instead of long duration rice variety in Boro season. Hopefully, this will help to produce approximately one ton of rice per hectare additionally”, said the finance minister in his speech.

Besides, adequate steps have been taken to achieve self-sufficiency in onion production, reduce the import of edible oil, increase the export of potatoes and increase the production of export-oriented crops including cashew nuts and coffee.

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council has launched Crop Zoning Website and Farmer Mobile App.

Crop zoning activities of 76 crops have already been completed in 300 upazilas. Research and development activities are in progress in this regard.
To combat the impact of climate change, vertical farming is also being introduced to increase production intensity. Floating agriculture, rooftop agriculture, hydroponic and aeroponic agriculture, ocean potential and precision agriculture activities are being prioritized.

The budget size for the next FY2023-24 is estimated at Tk 7 lakh 61 thousand 785 crore, which is 15.2 percent of the GDP.