Farmers on Thursday blocked the Dhaka-Rajshahi highway at Sherpur upazila in Bogura demanding potato seeds at a fair price.
Over 150 of them blocked the highway in front of Sherpur upazila parishad at 11:00am, causing huge traffic congestion on both sides of the highway.
The protesting farmers at the blockade alleged that with the beginning of potato cultivation season, some dishonest dealers and businessmen linked to Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation and different companies, including BRAC Seed and Agro Enterprise, created an 鈥榓rtificial crisis鈥� and increased the potato seed prices amid a lack of proper monitoring from the administration.
Safiul Islam Safi, a farmer of Ucharang village under the upazila, alleged that he was cheated by a local BRAC seed dealer. He paid local BRAC seed dealer Feroz Ali in advance for potato seeds for his 15 bigha land, he said.
But instead of giving him the seeds, Feroz sold them to the farmers of the neighbouring upazila at double prices, Safi alleged.
鈥業 have been visiting Feroz鈥檚 shop every day for the last few days but his shop is locked. Even his mobile phone is switched off,鈥� he added.
Another farmer Ayub Ali of Sadhubari village said that he had already prepared his 25 bigha land for planting potato but failed to manage any seeds.
He said that the dealers were selling the potato seeds in the black market at double prices as the administration turned a blind eye to the dishonest dealers and businesses.
Another farmer Sohel Rana alleged that the dealers and businesses were charging Tk 150 per kilogram of potato seeds although the official prices ranged between Tk 65 and Tk 79.
The blockade was withdrawn at about 12 noon after upazila assistant commissioner for land SM Rezaul Karim assured them of taking necessary actions.
Sherpur upazila nirbahi officer Ashiq Khan said that they were concerned about the artificial shortage of potato seed and its high price.
鈥榃e are trying to find out a solution to this problem,鈥� he added.
According to the annual reports of Department of Agriculture Extension and Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, 106 lakh tonnes of potatoes were produced in the country in the past 2023鈥�24 fiscal year of which 79 lakh tonnes was produced in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions.
In the 2024鈥�25 season, the government has set a target of producing about 98.55 lakh tonnes of potato from 3.65 thousand hectares of land in the 16 districts in these two divisions.
Despite a record production target, the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation, however, has allocated only 17,140 tonnes of potato seeds in the 16 districts for these two divisions against a demand of 6.34 lakh tonnes, leaving farmers to depend on the private seed producers and traders.
The Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, meanwhile聽on Thursday, fined a trader Tk 10,000 for selling potato seed at a high price.
The directorate鈥檚 Rajshahi divisional office assistant director Fazle Elahi said that they fined M/S Pragati Traders of Baya Bazar under Paba upazila in Rajshahi for selling a 50-kilogram carton of potato seeds at Tk 15,000 instead of at Tk 8,500, its actual price.
