Calling for a wage relationship with farmers, Fisheries and Livestock Adviser Farida Akhtar said, farmers will not have an independent entity if they go into contract farming. Contract farms are not related to farmers, big companies are working by destroying agriculture. We need to see how much benefit farmers are getting from this.
She said these things in her speech as the chief guest at a roundtable discussion titled 'Agricultural Workers of Bangladesh: Crisis and Solutions' at Hotel Omni International in the capital on Tuesday (November 12) morning.
The Fisheries and Livestock Adviser said that the survival of workers is not only related to wages. Farmers are not getting fair prices for their crops, and when the price of rice increases, various problems arise, in which case food items often have to be imported. If farmers procure food at good prices with subsidies, they will no longer have to import it, but we are not doing that.
He said, tobacco farming is developing like indigo farming in the country. Many farmers are forced to abandon food crops and turn to tobacco farming - which is very terrible. The lives of female workers are at high risk in tobacco farming, and in many cases, pregnant women involved in this profession are losing their children.
The adviser said, we need to think about the planned loss of importance of agriculture in GDP. Development does not mean that the importance of agriculture in GDP will decrease and other sectors will increase - he called for more emphasis on this issue. He also said, the green revolution in agriculture has turned into a gray revolution. Due to the use of fertilizers and pesticides in this sector, various non-communicable diseases including cancer are increasing due to the use of pesticides - everyone needs to be more aware of this.
The speakers called for prioritizing fair wages, social protection, and equal opportunities for the development of Bangladesh's agricultural workers, especially women, who are often invisible in policy frameworks. They highlighted the problems of agricultural workers in the country, wage disparities, and the realization of fair rights. They spoke about the risks to crop production due to fair prices for agricultural products and transportation shortages.