Sara Bangla Krishak Society (SBKS), a national federation of farmer organizations in Bangladesh, is using its network and resources to support farmers during the COVID-19 outbreak. With technical backstopping of FAO-Missing Middle Initiative Project (MMI), with the support of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), 57 Virtual Call Centers (VCCs) have been established in northern and southern Bangladesh, allowing farmers to continue selling their commodities, buy essential inputs and services, and share best practices and guidance during this critical time. In addition to ensuring that farmers of Bangladesh can continue to provide food for the country and their families, these measures greatly reduce the risk of infection amongst the entire farming community.
From the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, SBKS has been sharing information to its members on how to continue farm work as well as prevent being infected with the virus by practicing personal hygiene such as handwashing with soap and maintaining social distance.
SBKS also discussed and shared the government announcement regarding the ongoing shutdown of public transport and general holidays to stop the spread of the virus. SBKS has informed its members regarding government support to the farmers to mitigate the economic impact of COVID-19. The government will be providing USD 588 million as working capital for the agriculture sector with 4% interest rate; continuing input support of USD 1 billion as part of the national budget; reduction of irrigation cost to 50% from now; USD 25 million for mechanization, and vehicle support to farmers for product marketing, etc. Moreover, SBKS continues advocacy activities such as press conferences to support farmers in this critical time. #
Sources:
Increasing access to finance for farmers’ organizations in Bangladesh
MMI Bangladesh A2F+ Project
https://datastudio.google.com/
Tackling coronavirus: PM announces Tk 5,000 cr package for
Bangladesh’s agriculture sector
https://www.dhakatribune.com/b
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