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Yield of discontent makes food security jittery

REAZ AHMAD
Poor wheat yield has dealt another blow to the overall food situation and may lead to a new surge of grains import in the current fiscal 2002-03.
Wheat output went down to 14.95 lakh tonnes from production forecast of 17.50 lakh tonnes this year and the output of 16.05 lakh tonnes last year.
Food officials blamed the wheat output decline on unfavourable rain this March -- the month of grains maturity and harvesting. Late planting of seeds and shrinking of wheat fields also factored in the low yield.
Wheat acreage declined to 6.64 lakh hectares this year from 7.41 lakh hectares last year, as farmers preferred rice, pulses and vegetables to wheat thanks to their good
selling prices, says the agriculture ministry.
Finance Minister M Saifur Rahman told reporters last week that 22 lakh tonnes of grains were imported by the private sector till April and the food aid flow hit a low.
The government floated an international tender for import of two lakh tonnes of rice and wheat late March in the wake of poor aman yield and failure in rice procurement in the public sector. But the tender was cancelled last month because of poor response from bidders and high price quoting. Now, a file on fresh tender awaits the prime minister's approval.
The current fiscal's import of rice and wheat was 10 lakh tonnes more than the last fiscal 2001-02's -- the year that imported 12 lakh tonnes. The last fiscal did not see
any public sector import.
Food officials have been asked to make the current internal wheat procurement drive a success, as the government food stock slipped to less than three lakh tonnes and the public sector import of grains became uncertain after cancellation of the tender.
The wheat procurement drive that began on March 15 and scheduled to run through June 30 has so far purchased 60,000 tonnes. Food officials fear it may be impossible to reach the internal procurement target of two lakh tonnes because of low yield.
Wheat procurement is deemed crucial in filling the dried-up food reserve since the last aman procurement drive failed.
The government procured only 10 per cent of targeted two lakh
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tonnes of rice during the last aman season. The failure was put down to a late start of the drive and crop damage.
Although Agriculture Minister Motiur Rahman Nizami told the Jatiya Sangsad last March that Bangladesh would produce 17.50 lakh tonnes of wheat -- a 1.5 lakh rise over last year -- the cabinet lowered its procurement target to two lakh tonnes from three lakh tonnes.
Last year, the government went on buying wheat after the procurement season was over. As a result, traders with strong political backings imported substandard and low-priced wheat from India to pocket sums, depriving local growers from price support provided by the government.
Despite poor wheat output (16 lakh MT) last year, the government started procuring three lakh tonnes of wheat in March-June and went ahead with purchase of one lakh tonne more in July. During the extended period, substandard Indian wheat poured in government silos.