In an effort to increase the production of Aman paddy, the government has taken a decision to provide Tk 33.20 crore incentive to 4.90 lakh small and marginal farmers across the country, said the Agriculture Ministry. Under the  scheme, a farmer will get five kgs of seeds of high yielding (Ufshi) variety of T-Aman paddy, 10 kgs of DAP and MOP fertilizers free of cost, said a handout of the ministry. The incentive is being given from the regular budget and rehabilitation assistance and seeds sector of the Agriculture Ministry. Already an order in this connection has been issued and the distribution of incentives will start soon in the field level.        

Rice is not just the staple food in Bangladesh, it is at the heart of overall life – culture, politics, and economy.  The price of the grain remains a sensitive issue for everyone – producers, consumers and policymakers. It affects poor consumers who have the major proportion of calories from rice. For producers, rice cultivation often accounts for a large share of annual household income.  Rice consumption in Bangladesh is growing every year. It was 36.3 million metric tonnes in 2016 and is expected to reach 39.7 million metric tonnes within a few years, according to Mordor Intelligence. Despite government interventions, stable production and almost insulated domestic market, consumers and farmers are suffering from the soaring price of rice. The debate goes on – for years and years, consumers are paying more, but the farmers are being underpaid. And queues of people behind mobile trucks and stores for subsidised rice are getting longer.

Low prices for crops in the previous season, the burden of loans and costly labour are discouraging an increasing number of farmers from growing boro paddy this year.   Agricultural experts said farmers in the southern region are turning away for various reasons, including increasing agriculture labour wage. This year, Khulna farmers did not buy 900 metric tonnes of boro seed of BADC.   Locals said aman paddy on 25,000 hectares and vegetables on 864 hectares of land were damaged during cyclone ‘Bulbul’. Besides, pest infestation damaged crops on several hundred acres in Rupsha, Botiaghata and Dumuria upazilas.   Farmers could not harvest anything but straws. Thousands of farmers were affected. Besides, they did not get fair prices for their produces in the aman season.   Md Liaqat Ali, Deputy Director of Khulna BADC (Seed), said cyclones ‘Fani’ and ‘Bulbul’ caused massive damage to farmers.   “There was a high demand for hybrid variety of,seed. Besides, many farmers opted for onion due to the unexpected price hike,” he said.   Sources at the agricultural office said 2,000 metric tonnes of seeds were allocated in the BADC’s warehouse of Satkhira, Kaliganj and Bagerhat for the current season. These include  BR-26, BR-28, BRI-29, BRI-47, BRI-58, BRI-63, BRI-67, BRI-74, BRI-81 and BRI-86 varieties of paddy.

Dhaka, Dec 27 (UNB) – The government will use a mobile application – billed as ‘Krishoker App’ – to collect food grain directly from farmers across the country, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said Friday.