Farmers are being deprived from NCDP market facility in Kurigram

ABDUL WAHED:

Farmers are being deprived from facilities of the growers’ market under North-West Crop Divarfication Project (উত্তর-পশ্চিম শস্য বহুমুখীকরণ প্রকল্প) (NCDP) in Kurigram in want of proper bazaar management and road communication.

To sale the produced crops of farmers to the whole sellers directly, the NCDP markets have been set up in different districts of the northern part. Aims of the project are: developing structure of market, selling agriculture product, creating job, reducing poverty and developing life style of remote people through implementing standard market management and handing over the modern agriculture technology to the small and middle-class farmers.

In the market the growers (farmers) could sale directly their agriculture products to the whole sellers. As a result they could receive real price of their crops. They will have free from timing and traveling cost for the agriculture product.

According to the District Marketing Office source, the previous government had taken decision of establishing 60 growers’ markets in 60 upazilas and 16 wholesale markets in 16 districts of the northern part of the country. In the district only one growers’ market was established, but the wholesale market has not established here till now. Kurigram LGED, funded by the World Bank, set up a growers’ market with the cost of Tk.37,17,681 in Panga Bazar at Mirerbari village of Chhinay union under Rajarhat upazila of the district in 2008. There are one storeroom, four corners (room) for women, one training room, one washing room (for washing green products), a large space for 16 shops, one tube well, two toilets and water supply system in the market. The Panga Bazar is situated in about two and half-km far from Kurigram-Rangpur highway and in about 300-meter far from the carpeting village-road at the Mirerbari village. The market was opened for some days in April-May in 2008, but later the market was stopped in want of buyers (whole sellers). Later re-tender was called in July this year, but none have responded to the tender. Now farmers are selling their agriculture products in nearest markets Shelim Nagar bazaar, Rajarhat Bazar and Barabarihat Bazar.

While visiting the Panga Bazar on October 18, a shopkeeper Abdus Shobhan, 50, of Shelim Nagar Bazar said to this correspondent, “The bazaar for green crops seats everyday in the early morning here and is kept continues up to 11.00 am. Huge numbers of retailers and whole sellers directly buy the crops from farmers and took away through bi-cycle, rickshaw and van in different places being set up the bazaar near Kurigram-Rangpur highway.

“There is no well communication with the Panga Bazar. So the whole sellers are not interested to buy the agriculture products including potato, aubergine, cabbage, radish, pumpkin and spice from the market. Some buyers collect the crops from the fields in want of market-shed”, he added.

Member of the market development committee Babu Chandra Kanta, 55, said to this correspondent, “There is no better communication with the main road. The whole sellers (buyers) are not interested to come here. There is about 52 bighas of land in the name of the Panga Bazar. Here the bazaar management is not well. A total of Tk.125 as monthly fee has fixed for one shop (position) of the market, but it is not being benefited to the farmers. The fair should be reduced up to running the market”.

The District Marketing Officer Md. Humaiun Kabir said to this correspondent, “We called tender this year but no interested man has response. Now the market has been kept stop. The matter was informed to our higher authority in July 2010. How to run the market and it could become benefited to the farmers, on this connection Deputy Chief (Planning-1) of the Ministry of Agriculture Mr. Manzurul Anwar has been agreed to immediately visit the market in Kurigram”.