All 89 Warehouses in Rangpur Division Already Loaded
Irri-boro procurement hampered for want of space in silos
Lack of space in the food warehouses in Rangpur division is hampering the procurement of Irri-boro rice and paddy.
The Government had set a target to procure 2,89,190 tonnes of rice and 24,305 tonnes of paddy from the eight districts in Rangpur division during the current procurement season, food department sources said.
The procurement began on May 3 and will continue until September 30.
In eight districts of Rangpur division, there are 89 food warehouses with a storage capacity of about 2,44,150 tonnes of food grains, food office sources said.
But the warehouses are already loaded with 2,63,082 tonnes of food grains.
The situation has arisen due to the bumper production in the last season, import of huge food grains in the current fiscal year and less than expected distribution of food under social safety net programme.
An official of Rangpur regional food office, however, claimed that lack of space in the food warehouses will not hamper the procurement target as 6,947 mill owners have already signed agreement with the department for the purpose.
So far 19,500 tonnes of rice and 2,500 tonnes of paddy have been procured in the region, he said.
Construction of 66 silos with preservation capacity of 51,000 tonnes of food grains have already been completed in the first phase and construction of 32 warehouses with storage capacity of 27,500 tonnes is underway in the second phase, he added.
Boro was cultivated on 7,75,284 hectares of land in eight districts under Rangpur Agriculture Zone in the last season, with a production target of 30,88,559 tonnes of paddy, said Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam, an agriculturist at the Rangpur divisional office of the Department of Agricultural Extension.
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