Fourteen rights and farmers' organizations here today demanded more budgetary allocation for climate resilient agriculture and saving marginal farmers to ensure long-term food security.
"Budget allocation for agriculture in the proposed national budget for fiscal 2017-18 is not enough," they said demanding at least 20 percent allocation for the sector to ensure national food security.
The press conference held at Jatiya Press Club here was addressed, among others, by Syed Aminul Hoque, Secretary of EquityBD, Badrul Alam, President of Bangladesh Krishak Federation and Mustafa Kamal Akand, Assistant Director of COAST Trust.
They said the proposed budgetary allocation for agriculture is insufficient and it's reflecting the government's strategic failure in case of long- term climate resilient sustainable agriculture to ensure national food security.
The farmers' organizations also placed some specific demands focusing on the national budget: increased allocation for agriculture, enhanced subsidies to save marginal farmers, ensuring fair price of agriculture products by forming of National Price Commission, ban on importing so-called hybrid and GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) seeds and introducing agriculture education for farmers for climate adaptive agriculture.