Immediate and effective actions are required to keep prices of basic food grains at an affordable level to help the flood-hit poor to survive and restart their livelihood activities, top business leaders observed on August 15. If food prices continue its present upward trend, general people especially the vulnerable group will confront extreme hardship to meet their daily minimum requirement, they said in a press statement.

The statement said, “Impending decision by BKB and RAKUB to charge higher interest rates on agricultural loans reportedly under pressure from the World Bank will boomerang and is likely to create havoc in the government to overcome the current damage to food grain production.” Charging higher interest rates at this critical juncture will increase the cost of food production and add fuel further to the already rising rate of inflation, observed the business leaders.

“The Bretton Woods prescriptions for upper adjustment of gas and fuel prices will lead to further increase in the cost of overall production process including major agricultural input — fertilizer, thus adding ‘insult to injury’,” the statement said.” “It is unfortunate that on the one hand we urge the farmers to produce more and, on the other, discourage them by increasing interest rates on agricultural credit at a time when they need more support than anytime before.”

It said the Asian Development Bank has already revised its earlier projection of 3.2 percent growth in agriculture in FY07 due to flood losses and “we apprehend that this will further decline and lead to a higher food deficit, if the government continues its policy of accepting outside prescriptions devoid of ground reality.” Time has now come to think as to how long the country should continue with its present dependency on ‘donor advice’ for the meager foreign assistance, which has declined to less than 3 percent of GDP, the statement said.

“Moreover, how much of this assistance is really available and can be used to meet our priority needs of development?” it posed a question.

The statement said the USA and the EU countries as well as other industrialised nations provide high subsidies in the agriculture sector. “On the contrary, we, in Bangladesh are doing the reverse without considering the ground reality and the consequences that the nation will face after this devastating flood.”

The statement was signed by President of Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry Mir Nasir Hossain, President of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)-Bangladesh Mahbubur Rahman, President of Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Latifur Rahman, President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry Hossain Khaled, President of Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, President of Foreign Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry Masih Ul Karim, President of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association Anwar-ul-Alam Chowdhury, President of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association Md Fazlul Hoque, Vice-Chairman of Bangladesh Association of Banks Muhammad A (Rumee) Ali, President of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association Abdul Hai Sarker, President of Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies Samson H Chowdhury, President of Bangladesh Employers’ Federation and Chairman of Bangladesh Jute Mills Association Kamran T Rahman, President of Bangladesh Agro Processing Association Amjad Khan Chadury and Acting Chairman of Bangladesh Insurance Association Nizamuddin Ahmed.