farmers – Page 2

Farmers caught by credit, but Nayakrishi is immune…

24Mar

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Farmers caught by credit, but Nayakrishi is immune…

Dr.M.A. Sobhan The Bangladesh Bank (B B) has recently expressed concern for defaulting agricultural loans (the Shokaler Khabar 12 March 2014). The B B has also instructed the concerned scheduled banks to take effective step for reducing the defaulters in agricultural loans. The defaulted farm loan in the banking sector had increased by 44 percent as of January 31, 2014 from the same date a year ago. The situation of much acknowledged microcredit is not so different from agricultural loan. A BBC report said, in Bangladesh poor people are selling organs as a last resort to repay their microcredit debts. The report said:”Kalai, like many other villages, several villagers have resorted to selling organs to pay back microcredit loans that were meant to lift them out of poverty”(Octob...

Mahyco ‘owns’ Bt Brinjal, not BARI and never the farmers!

Farida Akhter On October 30, 2013 Bangladesh National Committee on Bio-safety (NCB) approved the application of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) for limited-scale cultivation and marketing of genetically modified eggplant, known as Bt Brinjal amid protests by environmental and farmers groups. The resistance against Bt Brinjal is increasing on issues related to serious threat to bio-safety and health. The authorities have failed to prove any agronomic value of the genetically engineered product and the claims are based on faulty methodology. The farmers are squarely resisting against patenting and explicit attempt of bio-piracy through technological manipulation. However, disregarding all these views, BARI claimed that Bt. brinjal has been developed in the public s...

Nayakrishi & Green Deal

Farida Akhter A Nayakrishi Perspective on New Green Deal Introduction Global Green New Deal is on the road to make growth look green. How green it is for the southern countries; is an extremely important question. Policy Brief of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP March 2009)) on Global Green New Deal (GGND) is about the "worst financial and economic crisis'' and raises the question whether the response of financial stimulus of US$3 trillion globally is sustainable. UNEP recommends a green stimulus of 1% of global GDP (approx. 750 billion), which is only one-fourth of the total proposed fiscal stimulus could provide a critical mass of green infrastructure "needed to seed a significant greening of the global economy". However, the focus of the green stimul...