THE RESOURCE STRUCTURE
IV. Development and Extension Agencies
There are in Bangladesh various administrative devices for micro-level development (other than the services mentioned above)- These devices include: 1) the government offices and officers who provide expertise, inputs and loans; and 2) various counterpart associations at the Thana, Union, and village level formed to receive the expertise, loans, and inputs. Mention will be made here only of those offices, officers, and associations which affect the resource picture of Dhankura.
The same Union Agricultural Assistant has been posted by the Ministry of Agriculture in Dhankura Union for the past seven years. He has his BA and took a ten-month diploma course from
the Tejgaon Agricultural Institute. His responsibilities are to advise farmers as to the proper use and new varieties of fertilizers, insecticides, and seeds; to assist farmers in the procurement of the same ; to recommend farmers for BADC loans; and to influence the level authorities to introduce projects at the union level. With the introduction of 9 IRRI projects in the Union, for which he lobbied together with the ex-Chairman and his backers, the Agricultural Assistant is busy supervising the projects everyday and trying to avail the necessary inputs. He has been able to assist the IRRI project leaders obtain BADC loans for the project members.
The two institutional sources of loans for Dhankura residents are the Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) and the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC). Both the Agricultural Assistant's recommendations are necessary for individual farmers to obtain BADC loans. But due in part to three defaulters on loans from another village in the Union and in part to the Agriculture Assistant's inability to bribe or influence the right officials, the Union Agricultural Assistant has not been able to avail many loans for Dhankura residents. Indeed, only two Dhankura farmers, have taken BADC loans. They are both members of the IRRI project cooperatives; one the project manager himself and the other the brother-in-law of the project manager. Only the U.P. Chairman's recommendation is needed for an ADB loan. One farmer, closely related to the Chairman, has taken an ADB loan worth Tk. 750. And another Dhankura farmer used his son's influence as a member of the Thane Mukti Juddha Sangstha (Freedom fighter's Association) to obtain the loan.
A Jute Extension Office (semi-autonomous body under the Ministry of Agriculture) was established in Dhankura in September 1977, The mandate of the Jute Extension Board is to motivate interest in and provide inputs for improved, high-yielding varieties of jute. The average current yield is 35-45 maunds of jute per acre. The new varities should yield 90 maunds per acre. A block of 400 acres in Dhankura Union has been brought under jute cultivation. The block Chairman is Naziruddin, former U. P.
member and partner of ex-Chairman Minhazuddin. Nasiruddin
owns two wheat mills at Nayardinghi. He has two sons: both receive jute loans, one serves on a Deep Tubewell project Committiee, the other is a ration dealer. Between them, the family exploits a lions's share (roughly 25%) of the external resources allocated to the Union. The jute extension Committee is Composed not of block farmers but of influential people of the locality.
The Jute Extension office provides loans, fertiliser on credit, free improved varieties of seed, line-sowers weeders, and guidance to interested farmers. A total of Tk. 17,000 has been allocated for loans to the Union; Dhankura village residents avail roughly Tk. 900 of this amount. A total of Tk, 10,000 worth of fertiliser is to be sold en credit through the Union: Dhankura village residents take roughly Tk. 180 worth of the fertiliser.
Dhankura then does not take a disproportionate amount from the Union allocation, as the jute Extension committee members represent a wider set of vested interests than the one village.
Indeed, although Dhankura is the seat of the Union, it has not had either very rich or very powerful members on the Union Council.
And the jute Extension Committee, which controls the disbursement of jute loans, represents the rich and powerful under the ex-Chairman.
But a few in Dhankura have taken jute loans, who are they ? Zafar Ali, who is linked to the Block Chairman and Secretary through they ex-Chairman has taken a TK. 500 loan. Four others have taken loans of Tk. 200 each: all four are linked to the office bearers of the jute Extension committee through the two faction leaders of Dhankura ; One is the brother and deputy faction leader of Safiqur Rahman, another the brother-in-law and deputy faction leader of Kashem Ali. Three from the sample households take Tk.
60 worth of fertiliser each on credit: one is the brother-in-law of Kashem Ali, and the other two are brothers to Kashem's deputy faction leader.
As early as 1968 (under the Up Chairmanship of Minhazuddin) applications were placed to the Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) for irrigation projects in
Dhankura Union. Various influential persons in the area (Kashem Ali, Asgar Ali and Kamal) together with the ex-Chairman and the Union Agricultural Assistant lobbied for the irrigation projects. All tubewells and pumps were sanctioned in 1975. Two pumps were operational by 1976, the remaining projects went operational in 1978. There are now 10 IRRI irrigation projects supported by the BADC in Dhankura Union: 7 deep tubewell projects and 3 power pumps projects. Three of the deep tubewell and 1 power pump project affect residents of Dhankura village.
Once a tubewell or pump is sanctioned to cover a certain area of land, the owners of land within that area join to form a KSS (krishi Samobaya Samity, Farmer's Cooperative society) to run the project. The number of members may vary, but each KSS forms an Executive Committee of 11 members including a President and a Secretary. The members also select a Manager for the project, who gains the fertiliser dealership for the project.
Each KSS must be registered under the Cooperative Registration Act. Members must contribute a lump sum for registration, plus a monthly subscription fee to the KSS.
The BADC posts 1 technical supervisor to 10 irrigation projects. Drivers, paid for by the project members, are given two month's training by the BADC. The tubewell or pump is supplied by the BADC at a subsidised yearly rent to the projects. Fertiliser and insecticides at controlled prices plus loans are offered to the project members through the Project Manager by the BADC. Cost of fuel and building and maintaining water channels must be borne by the project members: members are generally charged Tk. 8 per decimal of land per season, although the costs average roughly Tk. 5-6 per season. Obviously, there are distinct monetary advantages to being a Project Manager.
A total of 17 farmers from Dhankura are members of 4 KSS within the Union (probably totalling 160 members in all), Kashem Ali is the Project Manager of a deep tubewell project at the southern side of the village. The total land under this project is roughly 30 acres, belonging to a total of 85 farmers; 12 from Dhankura own 7-82 acres in this project. Members must pay Tk.
10 per decimal per season for access to the water and use of insecticides. BADC allocated Tk. 16,000 in loans to this project, but it is generally rumoured that 25% of the loan granted goes into bribes and other expenses. Of the 12 Dhankura residents, 4 have taken loans of Tk. 800 each. One, of course, is Kashem Ali himself; of the other three, two are related in marriage to and one is the neighbour and factional-supporter of Kashem Ali.
These projects do not actually operate according to regulation.
BADC is supposed to supply fuel, fertiliser, and insecticide at controlled prices. But at least one project is forced to buy fuel at the open market price because the bribe necessary to avail the controlled price fuel is too high. Each Executive Committee is supposed to receive an insecticide sprayer for Tk. 86, but the Thana Agricultural Office charges Tk. 130.
It should also be noted that one of the deep tubewell projects runs off electricity (due both to its proximity to the Dhaka-Aricha road and a Tk. 8,000 bribe paid to the Power Development Board by the Project Manager) rather than diesel and its operational costs are significantly lower. The Members pay only Tk. 3-4 per decimal per season for access to water. The managers of the other projects have been lobbying for electricity for the past two years to the Power Development Board (PDB) offices in both Dhaka and Manikganj: but they have been led to believe each project must be able to raise Tk. 10’000 in bribes to guarantee supply of electricity. By way of postscript, in late 1978, Kashem Ali who has worked for a national political party was told by the Dhaka head of that party, that electricity would be supplied before the national election in early 1979.