Once farmers of Pirojpur used to cultivate more than 50 varieties of paddy during Aman season. But currently, only five to six varieties exist as the rests appeared to have vanished, according to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).

The government is extending Tk 170 crore as incentive to boost cultivation and production of boro paddy.

Expressing resentment over the hike in rice prices despite high yields of paddy, the parliamentary standing committee on agriculture ministry today asked senior officials of the ministry to identify and take action against those responsible.

Life is easier now for Abu Taleb, 45, a potato farmer of Saddyo Puskuruni village in Rangpur. A year ago, high irrigation costs for diesel-run pumps, which he bore out-of-pocket, made it difficult for him to provide for his three children.

Aman paddy harvesting season has begun, but the general mass is struggling to buy rice as the price of the staple food is still high in the local market.

The bumper yield of Aman paddy and good prices has brought big smiles to the faces of rice growers in six northern districts.

Farmers in three northern districts, living in the area covered by the Teesta Irrigation Project, saved around Tk 95 crore in irrigation costs during the ongoing Aman season as they got surface water from the Teesta through the canal network at a cheap rate.

A Dhankurani can collect between five to eight kilogrammes of paddy from each rathole. Every season, each of them collects around three to four maunds of paddy by digging between 25 to 30 ratholes in 10 to 12 days.

One can see the Garo hills, green horizon, vast croplands and ponds after ponds from Balia village in Mymensingh’s Phulpur upazila. Once paddy and jute were the main staple crops of this region, but in the last three decades it has flourished in fish farming. Fish production is increasing here even more as new entrepreneurs continue joining the business.

The government yesterday approved import of 1.4 lakh tonnes of fertiliser to meet domestic demand for uninterrupted agricultural production.

Sixty-year-old Mansur Ali, who has no arable land apart from his homestead on 15 decimals land.

Bangladesh Bank yesterday asked private banks to speed up their farm loan disbursements to enhance the country’s food security.

Agriculture Minister Dr Md Abdur Razzaque today said after discussing the food situation in Bangladesh, World Food Programme Country Director Domenico Scalpelli has said that there is no possibility of famine.

The food ministry has increased the prices of both loose and packet wheat flour by Tk 6 per kg at the open market sale.

The government yesterday approved import of 1.8 lakh tonnes of fertiliser so that farmers do not face any crisis in the Boro season by the end of December.

Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque yesterday ruled out any possibility of famine in the country.

The Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) has started issuing health certificates to facilitate export of food products from the country.

Dhaka North City Corporation Mayor Atiqul Islam today said fish will be cultivated in Gulshan, Banani, and Baridhara lakes in the capital after preventing water pollution in the water bodies.

Bangladesh has barely tapped its potential in the global market for agricultural and agro-processed products as the country does not have an international certification system, according to Md Jashim Uddin, president of the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI).

The government will enact a law to stop polishing of rice as it loses its inherited nutritional value in the process, said Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder yesterday.