Bumper Aman harvest likely

FE Report The country has sufficient stock to meet the demand for food grains until the Aman harvest starting from next month, concerned government officials said Saturday. They said an appropriate market mechanism would be introduced for proper pricing of farm produce which would benefit both farmers and consumers. The officials said these at a press conference held at the Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU) office in the city on the eve of the 'World Food Day'. The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations organised the press meet jointly. The World Food Day will be observed today (Sunday) across the globe. The theme of this year's World Food Day is 'Food Prices from Crisis to Stability'. Head of seed wing of the MoA Anwar Faruque while moderating the press conference said, "The country's farmers have produced more than 18.65 million tonnes of rice in Boro season and 2.3 million tonnes in Aus season this year". "We are also expecting a bumper production in the current Aman season as weather was favourable and farmers got sufficient agricultural inputs. This bumper yield would also help maintain a smooth supply of rice during the post Aman harvest period," he said. He also informed that private food stock, estimated at 1.481 million tonnes, was also satisfactory. "So, we have nothing to worry about," he said. Anwar Faruque said: "From the experience of the 2007-8 world food crisis, we can say that 'import only can't ensure food security'. Increase in staple cereal production is most important." Admitting the price fall of paddy in Aus season, the seed wing head said, "We are working to introduce a proper pricing system to benefit both farmers and consumers". When asked about the duration of Open Market Sale (OMS), Faruque said, "The government would facilitate 27 million hardcore poor with the safety-net programmes until their income level is improved." Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) executive chairman Dr Wais Kabir said, "A close coordination between different wings of the agriculture ministry has helped the country in increasing food production". Additional secretary of MoA Quazi Akhter Hossain said, "To help reduce the production cost, we are trying to provide the farmers with agricultural inputs at subsidised prices which will also help boost the production". FAO representative to Bangladesh Mr Burgeaon said, "Between 2005 and 2008, the world's staple food prices soared to their highest level in 30 years when maize price increased by 74 per cent and rice nearly 166 per cent" "The rising food cost in 2010-11 pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty," he informed. Mr Burgeon said: "The World Food Day's theme this year 'Food Prices from Crisis to Stability' has been chosen to shed some light on this trend and its impact on the most vulnerable people". MoA jointly with the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, Ministry of Environment and Forestry and FAO is observing the day in Bangladesh.