The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Rangpur

Chief of Army Staff General Moeen U Ahmed Wednesday urged farmers to boost their farm produce to help the country attain food autarky, as it is not possible to live on imports.

"It's not possible to control market by importing food-grains. So, we have to achieve food autarky by boosting agricultural production," he said during his visit to Moheshpur village in Sadar upazila.

Earlier, the army chief inaugurated the planting of early variety of Birridhan-33 saplings and released fish fry in the canal of Water Development Board-both are part of measures for enhancing production of food items.

He said cultivation of Birridhan-33 would help mitigate 'Monga' and create

employment opportunity in the region as the early variety of paddy can be harvested nearly 45-50 days before the local varieties-the intervening period when the penury called monga hits the backwater villages.

He mentioned government plan to bring 40,000 hectares of land in the greater Rangpur region, including 10,000 in Rangpur, under the Birridhan-33 cultivation this season.

"Farmers, through farming this variety, would be able to cultivate rabi crops early, which will benefit them economically and socially," he told his audience.

Pointing out fish deficit in Rangpur region, the army chief, whose force is backing the present caretaker government, said if fish is farmed in a planned way here, it would be possible to meet local demand as well as of the country.

Fish farming was started in the WDB's 109-km canal here from 2007 under the supervision of the army.

The army chief witnessed the selling of fish from the canal and released new fish fry in it. He also provided Tk 10,000 each to of the 10 fish-beneficiary farmers of the canal from its profit.

General Moeen also distributed 5-kg granule urea fertilizer each among 100 farmers.

He later inaugurated a tree-planting programme on the bank of the canal. Some 20,000 different species of fruit-bearing, timber and medicinal saplings would be planted along the canal bank under the afforestation scheme.

Major General Fatemi Ahmed Rumi, GOC and also Rangpur Area Commander, and Rajshahi Divisional Commissioner Hafizur Rahman Bhuiyan accompanied the army chief during his visit.