Staff correspondent :

Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque today said that the government is emphasizing on producing more crops in less time to ensure sustainable food security as the arable land across the country is decreasing gradually.

“We are emphasizing on yielding more crops in less time and harvest crops from the same land for several times in a year,” he told a workshop at Faridpur Sadar Upazila Parishad Auditorium.

Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture (BINA) and Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) organized the workshop on the ‘Way forward to increase production of oil crops and rice in greater Faridpur and Jashore region’ with Agriculture Secretary Wahida Akter in the chair, said a press release here.

Dr Razzaque, also ruling Awami League (AL) presidium member, said, “Our scientists have developed short-duration improved varieties of rice and many other crops, which can be cultivated to produce additional one crop every year. Simultaneously, the yield is also very high. These varieties should be popularized among the farmers quickly”.

The government is implementing a three-year action plan to reduce country’s dependency on imported edible, he said, adding, “In the first year of the plan, we have produced mustard worth of over Taka 3000 crore.

We hope, as per the plan, we will be able to reduce the import of oil by half through local production within the next fiscal year 2024-25 without reducing rice production. It will save Taka 10,000 crore annually,” the minister said.

High-yielding varieties of onion have already been given to the farmers while incentives are also being given for summer onion cultivation, Razzaque said, adding, “If the onion can be stored at model storages, built by the government last year, we will not have to depend on foreign countries for onions, rather we will be able to export abroad”.

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) Executive Chairman Dr Shaikh Mohammad Bokhtiar, Bangladesh Agricultural Development Corporation (BADC) Chairman Abdullah Sazzad, DAE Director General Badal Chandra Biswas and BINA Director General Dr Mirza Mofazzal Islam, spoke at the event, among others.

According to the release, scientists have developed high-yielding and short-duration varieties of rice and mustard to produce 40 percent of the country’s edible oil demand.

With these varieties, after cultivating short-duration rice in Aman season, short-duration mustard could be cultivated in interim period before cultivating short-duration Boro rice. In this case, mustard production will come as an additional crop.

Earlier, Dr Abdur Razzaque attended a view-exchange meeting with Faridpur district unit leaders and activists of Awami League at the circuit house.

At the meeting, he said, there is nothing to fear about the US visa policy.

“Even during the 1971 War of Liberation, the US sent the 7th fleet, we did not fear of that,” Razzaque said, adding that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will become the Prime Minister again with the support of the people overcoming all the conspiracies and sanctions.

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