The government has set a target to procure 5 lakh tonnes of paddy, 12 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice and 1 lakh tonnes of atap (sun-dried) rice in the current Boro procurement 2026 season, State Minister for Food Md Abdul Bari has said. Procurement will continue until 31 August.

He was answering a question from MP Md Ashraf Uddin in Parliament on Thursday, 9 July. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmed, Bir Bikram, presided over the session.

The state minister said the government is continuing to import rice and wheat as needed, alongside domestic procurement, to keep the global supply chain running normally. Paddy and rice procurement has been increased to keep the country's food stock stable in the situation following the Russia-Ukraine and Iran-Israel wars.

In the last Aman season the initial target was 50,000 tonnes of paddy, 6 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice and 50,000 tonnes of atap rice, he said, but more than the target was bought from domestic sources to build up food security stocks and save foreign currency.

He added that a multi-sectoral food security risk modelling framework would need a coordinated initiative combining data on agriculture, health, the economy and climate. Such a system could be introduced in future if the ministries concerned agree.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.