Speakers have called upon the government to increase its food storage capacity to ensure fair prices to farmers and reduce dependency on import.

Due to the limited storage capacity, the government is becoming dependent on import, they said at a webinar today.

For all latest news, follow The Daily Star’s Google News channel.

The speakers also said the dependency on import will continue to rise if the capacities of storage as well as direct collection from farmers is not increased.

The webinar, Situation of Food Production, Import and Market: In the Context of Rights to Food, was organised by Right to Food Bangladesh.

Dr Md Shahjahan Kabir, director general of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, said, “The government collects less than five percent of the total paddy production directly from the farmers. This collection is too low that the government cannot influence the market with such a small amount of paddy.”

“The government should collect at least 15 to 20 percent of the total production to effectively control the market. At the same time, the government should increase the storage facilities to store collected crops,” he said.

Right to Food Bangladesh Chairman and renowned economist Dr Qazi Kholiquzzaman Ahmad said the government must increase its rice storage capacity up to three million tonnes by this year and 10 million tonnes by 2030 to control the market effectively.

The government should take pragmatic steps to control the influence of the middle men, he also said.

Underscoring the need for modernising the agriculture system, Kholiquzzaman, also chairman of Palli Karma-Sahayak Foundation (PKSF), suggested the government to provide farmers with high quality seeds, fertiliser and equipment at a reasonable price to increase production.      

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said, “We could not collect adequate amount of aman rice in the last season due to Covid-19 pandemic and prolonged floods. This is why we had to import rice to control the market.”



Increase food storage capacity, speakers urge govt
Source: Trend Viral Philippines