If the Boro paddy crop can be harvested without any natural calamity, the price of rice will come back to normal and within people’s affordability.
Boro has been planted on 63,000 hectares more land than that last year, Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzak said while inaugurating boro paddy harvesting virtually from his secretariat office on Thursday.
The agriculture minister said, “If we can harvest boro paddy properly without any major natural calamity, the price of rice will be normal. I firmly believe that we have taken the initiative to increase production this time. Our field officers have worked hard. There was nothing more we could do”.
At the same time, the Agriculture Minister said, “Additional hybrid paddy has been planted in 200,000 hectares of land this year due to its high production capacity. Incentives of Tk 73 crore have been given in this regard. Hybrid boro paddy has been produced in more than one lakh hectares of land than the target. As a result, more than 3 lakh tons of paddy will be produced”.
He said that, “Although the price of rice is stable at present, it is higher than normal. The price has gone up due to various reasons. With the increase in the price of paddy and rice, the target was more production from the beginning. The target was to produce 20 million tonnes of boro on 48 lakh hectares of land”.
“The target was to produce 35 lakh tonnes Aus last season. Aus will be produced more than that next year. Rice prices have risen since last year due to lower Aman production. Aman production depends on nature. It is damaged due to floods. Boro paddy has arrived 10-15 days ago due to hybrid cultivation. It is hoped that paddy cultivation can be increased in haors,” he added.
He further added that the government is working to ensure that there is no panic over food due to Covid-19. The government is working to ensure that the image of the government is not tarnished by food shortages. Paddy will be bought accordingly so that the farmers get good prices.
