The government has set a target to procure 4 lakh tonnes of paddy, 12.50 lakh tonnes of boiled rice and one lakh tonne wheat in the upcoming Boro season. The procurement of Boro paddy and rice will start from May 7 and continue till August 31, 2023. The procurement price of Boro paddy has been fixed at Tk 30 per kg, boiled rice at Tk 44 and wheat at Tk 35 per kg. In 2022, the price of paddy was Tk 27 per kg, boiled rice Tk 40 and wheat Tk 28. The price was fixed at a meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee (FPMC) at the cabinet meeting room on Thursday. Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder presided over the meeting, according to a press release of the food ministry. Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque, Local Government, Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister Md Tajul Islam, Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi and Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim attended the meeting. Secretaries to different ministries, including the cabinet secretary, were present in the meeting.

Bangladesh’s current food stock is highest-ever in recent times, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said on Tuesday dismissing any possible food shortage in the coming days. “In spite of the good stocks, efforts are on to increase import of rice to keep the price of the staple under control and ensure food safety,” he told reporters at Naogaon Circuit House. During the Boro season, some 19.50 lakh metric tonnes of rice have been procured until Monday and the procurement drive will end on Wednesday. The Boro procurement target will be fulfilled by the end of this drive, he said. The minister said there is no possibility of a shortage of any kind of food such as rice and wheat as the government has already decided to import wheat from Russia and Ukraine. Read: No bar to import food from Russia, Ukraine: Tipu The government has increased the number of open market sale (OMS) dealers three times for mitigating public sufferings, he said adding the number of OMS centers has been raised  from 813 to 2363. Not only that, the government is going to start open market sale (OMS) of rice from September 1 as per the directives of the prime minister, said Sadhan. The TCB card holders can buy OMS rice showing their cards, while others can purchase rice by showing their NID cards twice a month, said the minister. The authorities concerned will ensure that no person can purchase rice through OMS more than twice. After the launching of OMS service and food-friendly programme, the rice price will come down at a tolerable level after a few days, he hoped.

Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque on Tuesday said legal action will be taken against those involved in selling fertilisers at high prices after creating an artificial crisis. “Legal steps will be taken against those dealers, businessmen and shop owners who are found involved in selling fertilisers at a high price after spreading rumors of a fertilizer crisis as there are plenty of all kinds of fertilisers in the country," he said at a press briefing. Mobile court drives will be conducted in the boro season if needed, he said.  The press briefing was called to explain the overall situation of fertilisers in the country. Razzaque said the mobile court drives will be conducted for the next 30-days to control the market. Read: Onion price will cool down within 15-20 days: Agriculture Minister “Some 8.32 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser is in stock against the demand of 3.1 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser in the current month. Besides, 1.92 lakh tonnes of TSP fertiliser, 5.96 lakh tonnes of DAP and 3.12 lakh tonnes of MOP fertilisers are in stock against the demand,” he said.  “We have taken all-out preparation to ensure fertilisers at the local market as fertilisers are needed in this boro season. So, there will be no crisis of fertilisers,” he added. Mentioning abnormal price hike of fertilisers in the international market, the minister said the international syndicate is exploiting countries like Bangladesh. Read: Monga will never return: Agriculture Minister “We are strictly monitoring it and the field-level workers are active in that case," he said. Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun, who was present there, urged the farmers not to panic as there is no crisis of fertilisers now.

Cultivation of the rice variety 'Fatema' has started in Alfadanga upazila of Faridpur through a young man named Riazul Islam. While talking to the UNB correspondent, he said that he hoped to achieve bumper yield after cultivating this special variety of paddy on 75 percent of his land. Read Prioritising high-yielding paddy for haor areas: Minister While visiting the site, it was observed that the rice has already started to ripen. Harvesting of paddy will also start soon. Riazul said, ”I first came to know about this variety of rice from a Youtube video. I have  collected  the seeds of Fatema paddy from Labuyat’s mother after waiting for six months.” Also read: Govt to buy 11.50 lakh mts Boro rice It is to be noted that ‘Labuyat’s mother’, the woman from whom Riazul collected the seeds of this variety of paddy is none other than Fatema herself.

The government has decided to procure 11.50 lakh metric tonnes of rice (boiled and non-boiled) and 6.50 lakh metric tonnes of paddy during the ongoing Boro season. Some 10 lakh metric tonnes of boiled rice will be procured at Tk 40 per kg, 1.5 lakh metric tonnes of non-boiled (atap) rice at Tk 39 per kg and 6.50 lakh metric tonnes of paddy at Tk 27 per kg. Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder came up with the information while talking to reporters at a virtual programme on Monday. Read Govt plans to import rice to keep market stable: Ministry The procurement of boro paddy will start from April 28, rice from May 7 and will continue till August 31. On April 22, the decisions were made at a virtual meeting of the Food Planning and Monitoring Committee, chaired by Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder. Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi, Health Minister Zahid Maleque, Fisheries and Livestock Minister SM Rezaul Karim, Enamur Rahman, the state minister for disaster management and relief, among others, attended the meeting through a videoconference. Read Cabinet purchase body approves import of 50,000MT rice Last year, the government set a target to procure 6 lakh metric tonnes of paddy and 11 lakh tonnes of rice during boro season.

A cold snap, disrupting life in the northern part of Bangladesh, will likely to damage the Boro seedbeds if the weather does not improve and potentially trigger a seedling crisis.

 Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Thursday said that the market price of rice is affordable and stable amid the coronavirus pandemic as the government’s paddy and rice collection aim has been fulfilled.

Deputy Commissioner on Tuesday inaugurated the Boro collection with combined harvester machines in Patal Bil area of Sadar upazila.

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder on Monday called upon all to carry out boro procurement activities unitedly to ensure food safety in the post coronavirus situation.

The government has started procurement of paddy directly from farmers at Tk 26 per kg.