DHAKA: The Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC) on Tuesday (July 14) approved eight projects involving Tk 10,102 crore, including Tk 3,020 crore for agricultural mechanization aiming to reduce agricultural production costs.

The approval came from the second ECNEC meeting of the current fiscal year, held with ECNEC Chairperson and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair.

The prime minister and Planning Minister MA Mannan joined the meeting from Ganabhaban through a videoconference, while other members were connected from NEC Bhaban.
After the meeting, Planning Minister MA Mannan held a virtual press briefing.

He said: “Today, we placed eight projects of five ministries at the meeting and all the projects got approval. The total cost of the projects is Tk 10,102.03 crore. Tk 10,068.90 crore will be borne from the government’s fund, while the remaining Tk 33.13 crore from the funds of the organizations concerned.”

Talking about the agricultural mechanization project, the minister said the government will provide agricultural machinery to farmers at 70 percent and 50 percent subsidized prices in haor and coastal areas respectively.

He said the Department of Agricultural Extension will implement the project by December 2025.
ECNEC also approved another project titled Increasing Production of Oil-Bearing Crops Project involving Tk 278.26 crore under the Agriculture Ministry aiming to meet the local demand of edible oil and reduce the import costs in this regard.

BDST: 1825 HRS, JULY 14, 2020
AP/SMS