Our Correspondent
SYLHET, May 05: The Food Department has taken up a programme for procuring 28,919 tonnes of Boro this season from the four districts of Sylhet division, official sources said. Of the total, 20,705 tonnes would be Atap and the rest 8214 tonnes would parboiled rice, the sources added.
Signing of Contracts between the procuring authority at district level and millers for the supply is going on in all districts and expected to be completed within days, the sources said.
Of the target, 1696 tonnes of parboiled rice would be collected from Sylhet district and 1207 tonnes from Moulvibazar while highest 4005 tonnes would be procured from Habiganj. Procurement target of parboiled rice for Sunamganj district is 1206 tonnes, informed the official at the Regional Food Controller of Food, Sylhet.
However, the district wise target of Atap rice procurement would be set in days while the division's target is set at 20,705 tonnes.
The targeted rice would be procured through the listed contract millers in the region as the programme would continue till August 2018. Contracts are being signed with the millers for the supply through 44 purchasing centres in the region, the official added. Tk 37 would be paid for Atap and Tk 38 for parboiled rice per kg.
The authority is hopeful of getting a good response this time, as the yield is very good due to favourable weather whole the Boro season.
However, in the last year the target couldn't be achieved due to short supply of both boiled and Atap (non-boiled) varieties from the millers of Sylhet division even on extension of time twice. The Food department had failed to procure even a small quantity since the region had suffered devastating crop loss in last year's Boro season.
It was failed due to poor supply after repeated flash floods, lack of initiatives by the rice mill owners, absence of marketable surplus of rice or paddy etc, officials noted.
Although the DAE had set the Boro farming target on 475, 389 hectares in the division, the crop was cultivated on about 481,521 hectares in these districts this year. It includes 269,446 hectares in haor region and the rest 212,075 hectares in non-haor areas. Amid a fair weather, there has been a good yield of the much awaited crop, the DAE said.
Meanwhile, BSS adds: In Rajshahi, Boro rice procurement drive has started with the main thrust of facilitating the farmers towards getting fair price of the newly harvested food grain.
According to the official sources, the government has taken decision of procuring 6,571 tonnes of rice in the district and the decision has made the farmers happy.
District Controller Office of Food has started the rice procurement with the main targets of ensuring value support to the farmers, keeping the market price of food grain to a reasonable rate, building food security stock and continuing the supply system of official food distribution.
Noruttam Kumar Pramanik, information officer of Food Controller Office, here told BSS the procurement drive will continue till August 31. Rice will be procured from only the license holding millers at Taka 38 per kilograms in the district.
Nurul Amin Siddiqui, a farmer of Paba upazila, said in previous years the procurement drive started after completing the harvest of Boro paddy. That's why the farmers used to sell their paddy in fewer prices much before the start of procurement, he said.
"But this year, the growers will get fair price as the government took initiative of procuring rice at initial stage of harvesting," Nurul Amin said adding that farmers of the region are very much hopeful with the government initiative.
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