Govt preparing roadmap to raise rice production: Razzaque

The government is preparing a roadmap to increase rice production in the next two years, as the country is still struggling to contain the staple food's price despite achieving record production, Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque said today.

Rice acreage is decreasing in the country by the day, so the farmers should now work more with the newly invented high-yielding inbred and super hybrid varieties to boost rice production, he said.

Rice prices are rising in the country at a time when the production of aus, aman and boro varieties hit new record and the government also have the highest ever amount of rice in its stock, the minister said.

So it is time to go for increasing rice production to keep its prices within reach of the low-income people, he said.

He made the comments in a press briefing after a meeting in the agricultural ministry's conference room in the secretariat on how to increase paddy production with the use of high-yielding inbred and super hybrid rice varieties.

The government has also taken time-bound and specific plans to increase aus, aman and boro rice production in the next season and expand their production in hill and haor areas, the minister said.

Around 1 maund of rice can be produced in each decimal if the newly innovated BRRI 89 and BRRI 92 boro varieties are used, he said.

The government will prepare a list of the farmers who will produce BRRI 89 and BRRI 92 and purchase their rice as seed at higher prices than the market to encourage them to increase production of the two varieties, Razzaque said.

Even the farmers will be provided with seeds of the two varieties at free of cost and fertiliser at subsidised rates so that they do not face any seed crisis, he said.

The minister blamed the rising rice prices in Bangladesh on the increasing prices of commodities in the international market.

Wheat prices which have been hovering between $230 to $280 a tonne now stand at around $450, Razzaque said.

Around 48 lakh tonnes of wheat were imported in 2020-21 fiscal year whereas only 16 lakh tonnes were brought in until January this fiscal year because of its spiralling global prices, he said.

The minister, however, said there is no food crisis in the country although the prices are a bit high now.

Agriculture Secretary Md Sayedul Islam was also present at the meeting along with other high officials of the ministry and representatives of private seed association.