Khani calls for crop pricing commission, minimum price for crops

Bangladesh Food Security Network (Khani), an organisation working on food security and farmer rights, has called for setting a minimum price for crops and establishing a crop pricing commission to ensure fair returns for farmers and protect them from financial ruin.

At a press conference held yesterday in Dhaka, Khani said that small and marginal farmers in the country are facing severe financial losses due to not receiving fair prices for their agricultural produces. They are unable to recover even their production costs. 

According to Khani, while consumers demand affordable prices and traders push for maximum profit, farmers are caught in a vicious cycle of loss. Middlemen and market syndicates are cited as key contributors to the unfair pricing system, inflating prices at the wholesale and retail levels while offering minimal returns to farmers.

During the press conference, findings from a field investigation—including the recent tragic suicide of onion farmer Saiful Sheikh in Meherpur—were also shared. Facing severe financial pressure from low returns and unpaid loans, Saiful took his own life on 28 March after consuming poison. 

This season, although there was a bumper harvest of onions and potatoes, many farmers reportedly had to sell potatoes at Tk14 per kilogram—despite production costs ranging between Tk22 and Tk25.

Media reports revealed similar distress among other farmers, some of whom were forced to feed harvested crops like potatoes to cattle or abandon them in the fields due to unprofitable prices. 

In response to these alarming issues, Khani conducted a fact-finding mission on 16 April, engaging with Saiful Sheikh's family, local farmers, and administrative officials in Meherpur to collect ground-level insights. 

The organisation subsequently presented several key demands to reform the agricultural pricing system. These included initiating direct government procurement of paddy and rice, as well as establishing region-specific storage facilities. 

"We need reforms where both producers and consumers benefit," said agricultural scientist and KHANI president Zainul Abedin. "This requires a comprehensive effort, and the government must take the lead."

Farmer Saiful Sheikh's daughter Rojefa Khatun and mother Romesa Begum were present at the press conference, adding a deeply emotional dimension to the discussions.