Procurement of Boro rice has been started in all eight districts under Rajshahi division with the main thrust of facilitating the farmers towards getting fair price of the newly harvested food grain.
According to the official sources, the government has taken decision of procuring 2,69,550 tonnes of boiled rice, 22,476 tonnes of non-boiled rice and 26,614 tonnes of paddy in the division.
The department of food has already signed contract with 5,994 millers having valid license to make the procurement drive a total success.
Regional Controller of Food Md Muniruzzaman said the main targets of the procurement to ensure value support to the farmers, keeping the market price of food grain to a reasonable rate, building food security stock and continuing the supply system of official food distribution.
Talking to BSS today he added that the procurement drive will continue till August 31.
Boiled rice is being purchased at Taka 36 per kilogram, non-boiled rice Taka 35 per kg and paddy at Taka 26 per kg.
Meanwhile, farmers have been harvesting Irri-boro paddy in full swing everywhere in the division amidst good yield. Farmers cultivated boro paddy on around 8.30 lakh hectares of land, exceeding the target set by Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in this season, a local DAE official said.
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“We had fixed the target of bringing around 8.11 lakh hectares of land under boro farming but the growers cultivated it on 8.30 lakh hectares of land, creating scopes of producing 33.93 lakh tonnes of rice in the division,” said Additional Director of DAE, Dev Dulal Dhali.
He said the prevailing suitable weather made the paddy farmers capable of getting good yield of boro paddy as steps had been taken to ensure smooth Boro rice cultivation in this season.
Nurul Amin Siddiqui, 48, a farmer of Karnahar village under Paba upazila, said he has cultivated the paddy on three bighas of land.
Dr Aminul Islam, Chief Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI), said modern farming technologies and knowledge are being disseminated to the farmers through various programmes including 32 field demonstrations with bringing 360 farmers under need-based training to enhance rice production.
Regional Agriculture Information Officer, Abdullah Heel Kafi said the DAE and other agriculture-related organisations, Power Development Board and Rural Electrification Board ensured smooth supply of seed, fertilizers and electricity to the farmers.
He said the farmers were also imparted training on how to adopt conservation agriculture technologies like Alternate Drying and Wetting irrigation method at large scale.
(BSS)
