Sunamganj: Food Adviser Ali Imam Majumder today announced that the government is buying paddy at a rate Tk 4 higher per kilogram compared to the previous year to protect the interests of farmers. “If farmers are not paid fair prices for their labour and sweat or if their labour cannot be respected, farmers will lose their interest in agricultural work,” he addressed a gathering of farmers.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, Ali Imam, who is also an adviser to the Ministry of Land, spoke as the chief guest at the opening ceremony of the Boro paddy collection drive at Ujanigaon Food Godown in Shantiganj upazila, located in the Sunamganj district. He praised farmers and agricultural officials for their efforts in achieving a good yield of Boro paddy in Sunamganj and advised farmers to bring the paddy in a husked state to prevent damage when stored in the godown.
The adviser further mentioned the risk of middlemen influencing the procurement process. However, he assured that middlemen did not intervene during the Aman procurement and expressed hope that they would not have any opportunity to manipulate the Boro procurement either. He also highlighted the government’s storage capacity for paddy and rice, which stands at 22 lakh metric tonnes nationwide, with a reserve of about 4 lakh metric tonnes to address food shortages.
Discussing rice procurement, he stated that both boiled and atap rice will be collected during this drive. Additionally, he mentioned that the ministry is working on simplifying the process for landowners to pay land taxes.
Later, Adviser Ali Imam Majumdar observed the paddy harvesting process with a combine harvester in the Deran Haor region. The event was presided over by Sunamganj Deputy Commissioner Dr Mohammad Elias Mia and included speeches by Sylhet Division Food Controller SM Saiful Islam, Sunamganj Agricultural Extension Department Acting Deputy Director Mostafa Iqbal Azad, and farmers Baran Chakraborty and Prabodh Mohan Das.