Leaders of various farmers' organisations have demanded special allocation in the upcoming national budget for the construction of permanent embankments in coastal areas to save agricultural land, reports UNB.
They also proposed forming a national price commission to ensure fair price of agricultural products.
The proposals were placed at a press conference at the Jatiya Press Club on Thursday.
Coastal Farmers Association, Bangladesh Fish Workers Alliance, Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation, National Women Farmers Association, Bangladesh Adibashi Samity, Haor Farmers and Fishers Alliance, Gram Labour Resource Centre, Nolchira Pani Unnayan Samity, Dighon CIG, Kendriyo Krishak Moitree, Bangladesh Farmers Forum and COAST Trust organsied the press conference.
As the agriculture sector accounts for 46 per cent of labour resources and the food security depends on it, at least 20 per cent of the national budget should be allocated for this sector, said Coordinator of Bangladesh Farmers Forum Md Mujibul Haque Munir.
"Though the size of the national budget is increasing every year, the budget for agricultural sector is not growing proportionately," he said.
Chief of the Gram Unnayan Sanagstha Saiduzzaman Khokon said the funding for agricultural sector goes to wrong hands in many cases.
The authorities must ensure participation of farmers in all agricultural budget or plans, he added.
Mustafa Kamal Akand of COAST Trust said, "Each year, we are losing 1.0 per cent of our agricultural land and about 1.0 million people are becoming homeless due to river erosion."
"So, we demand budgetary allocation for the construction of permanent embankments to save coastal agricultural land," he said.
