Monga will never return to Bangladesh thanks to various steps taken by the current regime, Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque stated Friday.
"If we can distribute early-ripening varieties of Aman paddy which were invented by our scientists in our northern region, monga will not come back in future,” noted the minister.
Abdur Razzaque came up with this remark while virtually addressing a function organized by the Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) in Taragonj of Rangpur to mark the harvesting of specimens of BINA-16 and BINA-17 varieties of paddy.
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Monga refers to seasonal bouts of poverty and hunger caused by a confluence of natural and social factors unique to Bangladesh. Once an annual or even biannual occurrence affecting mainly northern districts, it has been a number of years since the last recognised monga.
Regarding the new varieties of paddy, the minister also said, ”They have immense potential. On one hand the production is good, on the other hand they ripen in 100 days."
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“We can also produce other crops including potato and mustard after harvesting these new varieties,” he added.