United News of Bangladesh

This year, the government will procure 17.5 lakh tonnes of Boro paddy and rice at Tk 36 and Tk 49, respectively, marking an increase of Tk 4 from the previous year. Of the total procurement, the government will procure 3.5 lakh tonnes of paddy and 14 lakh tonnes of rice, which will begin from April 24 and continue till August 31. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee at the Secretariat on Wednesday with Finance Adviser Dr. Salehuddin Ahmed in the chair. The committee decided to procure wheat at Tk 36, said Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumdar. The price of paddy and rice has been fixed by adding profit to the production cost given by the Ministry of Agriculture, he said. Harvesting of paddy has started in the haor areas and it will start in full swing from Pahela Baishakh. The agriculture adviser will go there to inaugurate the procurement process on April 24, he added. Bumper Boro paddy yield in Khulna’s saline land brings joy to farmers Last year, the government set a target to procure 5 lakh tonnes of Boro paddy, 11 lakh tonnes of boiled rice and one lakh tonnes of Atap rice at Tk 32, Tk 45 and Tk 44, respectively. Despite the continuous floods and heavy rains, the government has maintained a stable situation by importing fertiliser and rice and the target of paddy and rice procurement has been fulfilled, said the Finance adviser.    

The government has started procurement of paddy directly from farmers at Tk 27 per kg, said Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder. Besides, the government will start rice procurement from May 7 and it will continue till August 31, he said. The Food Minister inaugurated the programme through a video conference held at the conference room of the Food Department. Issuing a note of warning, Sadhan said the ministry will keep vigil to stop hoarding of paddy . He also urged the mill owners to complete their deal with the Food Department by May 7-16 to procure rice as the duration of the procurement will not be extended. Read: Will expedite Rohingya repatriation efforts through talks: Envoy Public representatives of Tangail, Naogaon, Dinajpur, Sunamganj, Mymensingh, Brahmanbaria, Barishal, Jhenaidah districts, high official concerned of local administration, officials of Food Department, mill owners and farmer’s representatives joined the event virtually. On February 24, the government set a target to procure 6.50 lakh metric tonnes (mts)  of of Boro paddy and 11 lakh mts of boiled rice and 0.50 lakh mts non-boiled rice in the  upcoming season in 2022. The procurement price of Boro paddy has been fixed at Tk 27 per kg, boiled rice at Tk 40 per kg and Atap rice(non-boiled) at Tk 39. The decision was taken at a virtual meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee with Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder in the chair.

The government will procure a total of 8.50 lakh metric tonnes of food grains from the marginal farmers across the country in the upcoming Aman season.

The government is going to expand the procurement of paddy through a digital app to 64 upazilas across country during the upcoming Boro season, said Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Wednesday.

The government's decision to procure paddy during the Aman season this year from selected upazilas across the country through a digital app for the first time has drawn a huge response from farmers in Jashore district.