Our Kushtia Correspondent reports: Hundreds of farmers on Thursday brought out a procession and besieged the Bheramara upazila agriculture office protesting excessive price hike of jute seeds.

After the procession, they handed over a memorandum to Bheramara Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sawdagor Mustafizur Rahman.

According to memo, the farmers are being of deprived of jute seeds from government approved dealers due to its artificial crisis.

However, unscrupulous traders supply it in exchange of higher prices.

According to farmers, a packet containing 800 grams of jute seeds is being sold at between Tk 330 to 350 against the official rate of Tk 30 only. They told local journalists, they lodged complaints to the upazila agriculture officer earlier, but they did not get justice.

Being frustrated, they brought out the protest procession. Following the procession, a meeting was held which was addressed, among others, by Bulbu Kabir, Asit Kumar Singho Roy, Tafser Matabbar, Saidur Rahman, Yakub Ali and Wasim Jahidul.

Following handing over of the memo, the UNO raided stores of several government dealers and seized 450 packets of jute seeds. He also formed a taskforce to ensure smooth supply of jute seeds, it has been learnt.

Our Nilphamari Corrspondent reports: Helpless farmers are thronging the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation(BADC) offices and different seed stores here daily, but they come back home empty-handed.

However, taking advantage of artificial crisis of jute seeds, a section of unscrupulous traders are compelling a few of the farmers to purchase inferior quality of Indian seeds at high prices.

A kilogram of jute seed was on sale at rural markets on Saturday at between Tk 300-350. Last year each kilogram of jute seed was sold at between Tk 60 to 65.

At the beginning of the jute cultivation season this year, seeds were sold at between Tk 100 to 120.

Demand for jute seeds rose following last week's rainfalls.

According to a source in the Agriculture Extension Department (DAE)here, the official target of jute cultivation has been earmarked at

10,620 hectares of land in the entire district.

According to BADC sources, about 1,15,830 kilograms of jute seeds are required to fulfill the target. But BADC supplied only 225 kilograms of jute seeds among farmers within 15 days.

Official rates of a packet of one kilogram of local variety of jute seeds is Tk 35, one kilogram of Tosha variety is Tk 32 and another type of seeds containing 775 grams per packet is Tk 25.

Following visit to different seed stores in the district town, this correspondent found 775 grams of seeds in each packet. Owners of Nilphamari Seeds Store, Mukta Seeds Store and Sonali Seeds Store claimed that the government supplied the packets. The packets were marked Tosha 0-9897 variety produced in BADC farm in Shibganj, Bogra. Seedstore owners were selling each packet at Tk 240.

However, each packet of seeds weighing two kilogram having marked 'Tosha 524-Navin' variety and produced in Maharastra, India was being sold at Tk 580. In the rural areas the price was much more higher.

There are allegations that BADC had sold a major portion of the seeds in black markets.

When this correspondent visited local BADC office on Thursday, he had found there an office assistant named Abdul Jalil. He had been telling the farmers that the entire stock of 225 kilograms of seeds supplied by the government got exhausted.

On inquiry, he came to know that the concerned Officer-in-Charge, Abdus Samad Mia who happened to be an assistant administrative Officer had been absent from the office since March 10. It was also learnt that he had been on unauthorised leave. The Store-keeper, Mokbul Hossain was also absent from the office illegally from March 21.

This correspondent saw hundreds of farmers were waiting outside the BADC office under the scorching sun.

A farmer, Anjufar Rahman of village Chilahati in Domar Upazila told this correspondent he had collected six kilograms of jute seeds of Indian origin at Tk 1,740. 'But two thirds of the seeds did not sprout (shoot out) after expiry of the period'.

Another farmer Hatem Ali of village Nautara in Dimla Upazila told he prepared two bighas of land for jute cultivation but he has to abandon the idea 'due to acute scarcity of seeds'.