90% paddy harvested in haor areas: Minister

Ninety percent boro paddy have been harvested so far in the flood-prone haor areas in the country, said Agriculture Minister Dr Muhammad Abdur Razzaque on Sunday.

Thirty three percent boro paddy have been harvested across the country so far which is a good start, he said while speaking at a press briefing held at the secretariat.

Mentioning that boro season is the main season of paddy, Razzaque, said every year, 48-49 lakh hectares of land are brought under boro cultivation but this year, 50 lakh hectares of land have been brought under boro cultivation exceeding the target.

Of the total cultivation, 9.50 lakh hectares of land in haor areas have been brought under boro cultivation with a production target of 38 lakh tonnes of paddy, he said.

Recalling the previous experiences during the harvesting time of boro paddy, the minister said haro areas always see flash flood during boro season. "But this year, 90% of paddy have been harvested in haro areas and we have made it possible as we encouraged the farmers to harvest their paddy earlier."

Besides, boro growers in Sunamganj used 1000 combine harvester and 668 reapers to harvest paddy, which is a great achievement, he said.

"This year, the government has set a target to produce 2.15 crore tonnes rice but we hope that we will be able to produce 2.20-2.25 crore tonnes," he said.

He also hoped that there will be no crisis of food as the weather seems to be favorable till now.

He also said that the price of paddy is better than the previous year and no complaint has been found yet from the farmers in this regard.