Farmer's Cards to be given on the Bengali New Year with 10 key benefits

The government will provide Farmer's Cards to all farmers across the country in three phases. The cards will be issued by dividing farmers into five categories.

Through this scheme, cardholding farmers will receive 10 types of benefits, including agricultural inputs at fair prices, irrigation facilities and easy-term agricultural loans.

On Pahela Baishakh (next Tuesday), the first day of the Bengali new year, the inauguration of the pre-piloting phase of the Farmer Card distribution will be held. Prime minister Tarique Rahman will inaugurate the programme at Shaheed Maruf Stadium in Tangail.

Agriculture minister Mohammad Amin Ur Rashid announced this at a press conference held at the secretariat today, Sunday. Adviser to the prime minister on finance and planning, Rashed Al Mahmud Titumir also spoke on the occasion.

The agriculture minister said the distribution of the Farmer Card will be implemented in three phases: pre-piloting (trial-basis), piloting, and nationwide rollout.

In the pre-piloting phase, farmers engaged in crop production, as well as fish farmers or collectors, livestock farmers and daily farm operators, along with landless, marginal, small, medium and large-scale farmers, have been included in 11 blocks across 11 upazilas in 10 districts. Salt farmers have also been included where applicable.

The press conference was informed that the pre-piloting phase will cost approximately Tk 83.4 million (8.34 crore). After the completion of this phase, pilot activities will begin in 15 upazilas by next August.

Based on this experience, there is a plan to gradually complete the distribution of the cards and the creation of a database across the country over the next four years.

It was stated at the press conference that in the pre-piloting phase, the Farmer Card is being issued to farmers, fish farmers, livestock farmers and salt farmers in the 11 blocks.

This is a banking debit card. Bank accounts have been opened in the names of the respective farmers against these cards at local branches of Sonali Bank.

As of 11 April, information of 22,065 farmers has been collected. Among them, there are 2,246 landless farmers, 9,458 marginal farmers, 8,967 small farmers, 1,303 medium farmers and 91 large-scale farmers.

Among them, landless, marginal and small farmers will receive Tk 2,500 in cash annually through the card. Out of the 22,065 farmers, 20,671 are landless, marginal and small farmers.

The agriculture minister said that farmers receiving the card will get 10 types of benefits. These are: agricultural inputs at fair prices, irrigation facilities at fair prices, agricultural loans on easy terms, access to agricultural machinery at low cost, government subsidies and incentives, weather forecasts and market information via mobile phone, agricultural training, advice on controlling crop diseases and pests, agricultural insurance facilities, and the opportunity to sell agricultural products at fair prices.

The agriculture minister said that through the card, farmers will be able to purchase fertiliser, seeds, fish or animal feed along with various agricultural inputs using point-of-sale (POS) machines supplied to relevant dealers.