Tk 360 crore crops saved by culling 1.2 crore rats: DAE
About 79,876 tonnes of crops worth Tk 360 crore were saved by culling around 1.20 crore rats last year.
This information was revealed today at the inaugural session of the month-long Nationwide Rat Extermination Campaign at AKM Gias Uddin Milky Auditorium at Khamarbari in Dhaka.
In 2019, about 1.48 crore rats were culled and crops worth Tk 300 crore were saved from the menace, according to the officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).
Every year, the DAE conducts this campaign for a month. This year's campaign will continue until November 10, according to a press release of Agriculture Information Service.
The motto of the National Rat Extermination Campaign 2021 is "Jatiya Sampad Rakkharthe, Idur Mari Eksathe (Cull rats collectively to save national resources)".
Addressing the programme, Agriculture Secretary Md Mesbahul Islam called upon officials concerned to strengthen the rat extermination campaign to save the crops from the menace.
He said rats usually destroy the hard-earned crops of farmers. The amount of this loss is about Tk 20,900 crore per year.
"Rats need to be exterminated collectively. Controlling rats is essential for increasing food production and food security," added.
DAE Director General Md Asadullah presided over the programme.
Comments