Despite crop losses to floods, the government has so far procured a "satisfactory" amount of boro paddy and rice this year. Paddy procurement has already exceeded its target, and purchases of parboiled and atap rice are close to theirs.

Officials therefore expect the full target to be met, or even exceeded, in the remaining time, although crop losses had made this year's target a challenge.

Boro rice provides the largest share of the government's food grain stock, so officials believe this successful procurement will further strengthen the country's food security.

The government began its drive to procure 18 lakh tonnes of paddy and rice for the boro season in May. The targets were 5 lakh tonnes of paddy, 12 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice and 1 lakh tonnes of atap rice. About two weeks of the drive remain, until 31 August.

The Directorate General of Food says the paddy target had been exceeded by 16 August, with 5 lakh 78 thousand 140 tonnes procured. Against the 12 lakh tonne target for parboiled rice, 11 lakh 9 thousand 569 tonnes have been procured, and 90,595 tonnes of atap rice have come in against a target of 1 lakh tonnes.

The directorate says it made a concerted effort to meet the targets despite the crop damage. Measures included starting purchases early in the haor areas, extending farmer registration, opening a control room, keeping field administration working through the last Eid holidays and relaxing the rules for buying paddy from farmers.

This year the government is buying paddy at Tk 36 a kg, parboiled rice at Tk 49 and atap rice at Tk 48.

Md Moniruzzaman, director (procurement) of the Directorate General of Food, told Jagonews24 that the government's price was profitable for farmers, and several initiatives also paid off in this year's boro procurement.

"Even though our sack and storage capacity is limited, we did not turn farmers' paddy away," he said. "We took rice in farmers' own sacks, which was later stored in government sacks. We also relaxed complicated rules with a view to buying more."

He said farmers were also keen to sell paddy to the government this year, and paying for paddy and rice directly into farmers' own accounts meant genuine farmers benefited.

The food department says this is one of the largest procurement drives in recent years. In most earlier years boro procurement targets were not met, which increased dependence on imports for several years.

At the start of this year's drive, floods damaged paddy on about 49,000 hectares in the haor, a loss of about 2 lakh 14 thousand tonnes in rice terms, or roughly 1 percent of total boro output. Excessive rain then damaged paddy in other parts of the country outside the haor.

To help haor farmers, the government changed the schedule and took special steps. Rice procurement had been due to start on 15 May, but paddy and rice purchases began together on 3 May in six affected districts. The food department says this let farmers sell paddy and rice quickly.

Agricultural economist Dr Jahangir Alam Khan told Jagonews24: "This government has succeeded in its rice procurement, which is good. It has also kept rice stocks healthy. Overall, the country's food security is now at a comfortable level."

According to government figures, the country's food grain stock is now at its highest. Total stocks in government warehouses stand at 24 lakh 2 thousand 420 tonnes, of which rice is 20 lakh 81 thousand 69 tonnes, wheat 2 lakh 49 thousand 535 tonnes and paddy 1 lakh 10 thousand 487 tonnes.

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