Two food warehouses in Sherpur, Bogra did not collect even 1 kg of paddy during the current aman collection season.
Sherpur Upazila Food Controller Mamun A Qayyum said this at noon on Monday (January 31).
He said the procurement of paddy at the rate of Tk 28 per kg and cooked rice at the rate of Tk 40 per kg has been started in Sherpur Upazila since last November under the internal aman food grain procurement. According to the time fixed by the government, it is going on till 26th February. Although the target is to collect 6,841 metric tons of rice in two food warehouses of the upazila, 4,060 metric tons of rice has been achieved so far. On the other hand, despite the target of collecting 1,208 metric tons of paddy, not even one kg of paddy has been collected so far.
Upazila Food Controller Mamun A Qayyum also said that the farmers were not interested in giving paddy to the godowns as they got good prices in the market. As a result paddy could not be collected. However, farmers registered to buy paddy through farmer’s apps. But due to high prices in the market, farmers have lost interest, he said.
Rashedul Islam, officer-in-charge of Sherpur food warehouse, said no farmer had come to the warehouse with paddy this season. So paddy could not be collected. However, he expressed hope that the rice target would be achieved even if paddy is not procured.
