Change food habit, reduce rice consumption: Agriculture Minister

Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque today urged people of the country to change their food habit gradually and eat other nutritious food and fruits -- reducing rice consumption.

"Per capita rice consumption in Bangladesh is 400 grams daily -- which is the highest in the world. In many countries, people's average rice consumption is 200 grams daily," he said.

The minister came up with the remarks while speaking as the chief guest at a function titled "Bangladesh's 50 years: Achievements and Diversifications in Agriculture".

Bangladesh Agriculture Journalists Forum (BAJF) and Bangla daily Bonik Barta jointly organised the programme at a Dhaka hotel marking 50 years of Bangladesh's independence.

Dr Md Shajahan Kabir, DG of Bangladesh Rice Research Institution (BRRI), presented the keynote paper on "Rice based agriculture transformation in Bangladesh: research and policy nexus".

He mentioned in the presentation that so far around 137 varieties of rice have been developed by BRRI which helped the country become self-reliant in food production.

He also said that one taka invested in agriculture research brings 51 times higher return.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representative in Bangladesh, Robert D Simpson and USAID Mission Director Kathryn David Steven, also spoke at the function as special guests.

President of BAJF, Iftekhar Mahmud, presided over the function while editor of Bonik Barta, Dewan Hanif Mahmud, moderated it.