Dr. Muhammad Abdul Mazid

Dr. Muhammad Abdul Mazid , Former Chairman, NBR : Farmers are not given their fair price for the labor and production of agricultural goods. Through sweat and tears, a farmer harvests crops from the land. The final result is yielded from crops. It can be from different kinds of crops like rice, jute, potato, wheat, vegetables etc. The question is whether we are giving farmers their rightful compensation–we are not. The landowners pay the farmers a meager amount while selling their produce in the cities at an elevated price. If this goes on, our development will not be viable.
The farmers sweat and toil on the fields, but it is the landowners who bear the fruits and that too, without any sort of investment, contribution or effort. The producers are being swindled. If this continues, the farmers will be in ruin. They will be discouraged.
Our farmers do not know how to do politics. They don’t know who the political parties are and why they do politics. Neither do they care. They are busy in their own struggles. Their ambition is to improve their lives and how to advance in their occupation. But have we valued these people? Are we acknowledging their struggle and effort? I don’t think so.
There are many in the city who earn a fixed income. These people will suffer if the price of a potato increases from Tk10-15 to Tk20-25. This is justified only if the reason for the price hike is to help the struggling farmers. But if middlemen swindle the profits, it will be the farmers who suffer. During such situations, a person’s savings are depleted, thus people can’t remain ethical for long. Farmers not getting their rightful compensation for their goods will have a negative impact on future productions.
Based on an interview by Ashiq Rahman, translated by Abrar Hussain