The trend of increasing food production in Bangladesh continued even during the pandemic, Agriculture Minister Md. Abdur Razzak said on Friday.

He was addressing a press briefing at the auditorium of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) at Farmgate in Dhaka on the occasion of World Food Day 2021.

In the fiscal 2020-21, the production of boro rice has been over 2 crore tons, which is an all time high, the minister noted.

Besides, he stated different   stats showing the overall production of rice, vegetables, wheat, maize, potatoes and other crops increased significantly compared to the previous years during this time.

Regarding onions, the minister said the agriculture ministry has been able to increase production to 7 lakh tonnes in a single year to achieve onion self-sufficiency.

The World Food Day 2021 will be observed in the country on Saturday as elsewhere in the world with the theme "Our actions are our future- Better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life".

The agriculture ministry will be collaborating with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to observe the day in Bangladesh.

An international seminar will be held at Pan Pacific Sonargaon hotel at 10 am  Saturday marking the occasion Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to join the seminar as the chief guest through video conferencing from her official Ganabhaban residence.

Besides, President M Abul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina issued separate messages on the eve of the day.

President Hamid in his message called on the authorities to work on crop diversification, optimum use of arable land, agriculture modernisation, innovation of climate-tolerant crop varieties and sustainable use of technology in order to increase crop production in Bangladesh.

In her message the prime minister highlighted the steps taken by her government in modernising agriculture and increasing food production.

She also talked about the initiatives taken by her government for farmer’s welfare including stimulus packages, financial assistance, supply of fertilisers and diesel.

Sheikh Hasina also mentioned about the policies benefiting farmers which include  National Agriculture Policy-2018, Delta Plan-2100 and the Food Safety Act.