Tk4,000cr saved in one year, more savings planned in fertiliser subsidy

The interim government has saved Tk4,000 crore over the past year through various cost-cutting and anti-corruption measures, said Agriculture Secretary Mohammad Emdad Ullah Mian today (27 November).

Speaking at a seminar titled "Transforming Agriculture: Locally Appropriate Farm Machinery and the Challenges of Exporting Agricultural Products," held in the capital's CIRDAP auditorium, the secretary said, "The government is also designing measures that will save Tk 2,000-3,000 crore annually in fertiliser subsidies. Tk1,000 crore has already been saved this year."

Emdad Ullah Mian said a 25-year agriculture development and modernisation plan is being finalised, and its draft will be ready by December this year.

He also noted that Tk600 crore from the ongoing farm mechanisation project has been returned to the government.

Speaking at the event, Md Durrul Huda, chief scientific officer at BRRI, said the biggest challenge in producing modern agricultural machinery locally is the shortage of skilled workers, outdated infrastructure and the absence of advanced manufacturing facilities.

Huda siad, "Although BRRI-developed prototypes perform well in the field, local factories fail to reproduce them to the required precision."

"The light engineering sector and foundries remain outdated, making it difficult to manufacture interchangeable parts or adopt assembly-line production," he added.

The absence of a state institution capable of producing engines has further stalled progress, said Huda.

The event was organised by the Bangladesh Agricultural Journalists Forum (BAJF) on the organisation's 25th anniversary. It marked the opening of a four-day international conference on "Political Commitment in Agriculture and Food."