The New Nation - Internet Edition

Shamim Jahangir

The Government has built a record foodgrain stock of 12.52 lakh tonnes for a year, according to Directorate of Food sources.

"We have stocked 10.60 lakh tonnes of rice and 1.92 lakh tonnes of wheat so far. The stock was 5.80 lakh tonnes of rice and 1.40 lakh tonnes of wheat in 2007," Pius Costa, Director General of the Directorate of Food, told the New Nation told the New Nation yesterday.

"With this stock of the foodgrain the government will able to meet any contingency for a year," Pius said.

He informed the government has signed Memorandum of Understandings (MoU) to procure one-lakh tonnes of Aman rice from farmers under its procurement drive.

He further said that the government has stopped its Aman procurement drive as its 639 godowns are already fulfilled with rice and wheat.

The government will construct 280 go downs across the country with an accommodation capacity of three lakh twenty thousand tonnes of rice and wheat to expand its storage capacity.

The storage capacity of the each of the godowns would be between 500 and 550 tonnes.

Most of the godowns would be constructed in northern districts, which supply bulk of the foodgrains for procurement by the government.

The total storage capacity of 639 godowns all over the country is 12 lakh tonnes of rice and 2.25 tonnes of wheat, the sources added.

Economist Prof Atiur Rahman told the New Nation that the next government should make available agriculture inputs to the farmer before Boro irrigation starts to keep large volume foodgrain in stock.

He suggested that the government should ensure the supply of power, quality seeds and other agriculture inputs for long-term food security. The Government has fixed the distribution target of fertilisers at 42.90 lakh tonnes against the actual demand of 73.79 lakh tonnes in 2008-09. For this, the farmers might be facing fertiliser crisis during the on-going Boro season, sources in the Agriculture Ministry said.