Aman Paddy Procurement: At a snail’s pace in Rangpur
The government-sponsored programme that promised to procure Aman paddy directly from marginal farmers has been operating at a slow pace for half a month in eight districts of Rangpur division.
Although the programme officially started on November 20, the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) could manage to finish making a list of nearly 175,000 farmers in the division only recently.
Due to the delay, the Regional Food Controller’s Office in Rangpur managed to procure only 3,865 tonnes of paddy until December 9 whereas the government set a target of procuring 126,883 tonnes in this harvesting season.
Contacted, Raihanul Kabir, divisional food controller of Rangpur, said the number of farmers in the region was far more than what the government initially presumed it to be.
Thus, it took additional time to start procuring paddy in full swing from the enlisted farmers, he said, adding, “We made the list through a lottery.”
Meanwhile, Mohammad Ali, deputy director of DAE of Rangpur, said the entire process of procuring paddy was delayed due to the setback in making the list.
“Besides, high moisture in the paddy was one of the reasons for the delay,” he said.
Paddy with high moisture cannot be stored properly, he added.
In the face of this sluggish purchase, prices of paddy in these districts continued to remain low, raising worries among many farmers.
Subol Roy, a farmer in Gopalganj area of Dinajpur, said if the government had started procuring paddy in full swing, the price of paddy could have been better in the market.
On last Tuesday, the farmers sold their paddy at Tk 16 per kilogramme in a wholesale market in Dinajpur Sadar, he added.
Azizul Islam, a farmer of the same area, said they could manage to be at their break-even if the price was at least Tk 18.5 per kilogramme.
Asked, Rangpur’s Divisional Food Controller Raihanul claimed the price dropped in the market but it went up immediately. “We want the farmers to get better price,” he said.
Now, the paddy procurement programme has been operating in full swing all over Rangpur region, he added.
Ministry of Food announced to procure six lakh tonnes of paddy across the country at a price of Tk 26 per kilogramme in this harvesting season. The announcement was made to help farmers recoup their losses in the previous season and keep the market alive.
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