From Rajshahi Rally Stage, PM Hands 12 Crore Taka Incentive to 38,970 Sugarcane Farmers

On arriving in Rajshahi, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman has given a government incentive to 38,970 sugarcane farmers. On Tuesday afternoon, seated on the stage of a public rally at Rajshahi’s historic Madrasa field, he pressed a laptop button to launch the distribution.

The incentive money reached the farmers’ bank accounts directly. As soon as it arrived, the farmers received an SMS on their mobile phones, so they could confirm from the rally ground itself that the incentive had been credited to their accounts.

The Prime Minister handed over the incentive in the first part of the rally. He said, “An incentive of 12 crore taka has been given to 38,970 farmers.” With that announcement, the distribution formally began.

The Prime Minister then handed symbolic cheques to 15 farmers from 15 mill zones. As representatives of sugarcane growers from sugar mill areas across the country, the farmers received the cheques from him on stage.

After the distribution, the second part of the rally began, with party MPs and leaders addressing the gathering in the Prime Minister’s presence. A festive atmosphere had surrounded the Madrasa field rally since the morning.

Earlier, shortly after 3pm, the military aircraft carrying the Prime Minister landed at Rajshahi’s Hazrat Shah Makhdum Airport. From the airport he went straight to join the rally at the Madrasa field.

The Prime Minister’s programme on the day spanned several divisional cities. In the morning he first went to Rangpur. After finishing his engagements there, he came to Rajshahi and took part in the rally and the incentive distribution.

The incentive for sugarcane farmers comes at a time when rising costs of fertiliser, seed, irrigation and labour are steadily pushing up cultivation expenses. Because the cash support reaches bank accounts directly, there is no scope for middlemen to take a cut.

Sugarcane is an important cash crop in the Rajshahi region and in sugar mill areas across the country. Organising growers by mill zone for this incentive is also linked to the goal of keeping sugarcane farming profitable and ensuring cane supply to the mills.

After the Rajshahi programme, the Prime Minister will travel to Chattogram later this afternoon. Following a visit to the JM Sen Hall Rahmatganj puja pandal in Chattogram, he is scheduled to return to Dhaka at night.

All told, among the day’s programmes across three cities — Rangpur, Rajshahi and Chattogram — the incentive distribution in Rajshahi was one of the most notable events. The support reaching nearly 39,000 farming families directly is expected to help them prepare for the coming season.