Price Hike: Govt making roadmap to increase rice production

The government is preparing a roadmap to boost rice production within two years to meet the increasing demand, said Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque on Thursday.

"This year aus, aman and boro paddy production reached record harvests, and government stock is at its highest," he told journalists at the Secretariat, after attending a meeting on the issue.

"Yet price of rice has remained out of control," he said.

The government has taken time-bound specific plans to increase aus, aman and boro rice production for the next season, as well as plans to expand their production in hill, haor and adverse areas, said Muhammad Abdur Razzaque.

Saying there's a scarcity of land, he said farmers will be provided seeds for two newly innovated high-yield boro varieties, which can yield around one maund of rice in a decimal of land, free of cost.

The minister also urged Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics and Department of Agriculture Extension to create a more reliable statistic on rice demand, production and productivity to help with decision-making.