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Local hybrid rice seed production jumps 40pc

Sohel Parvez
Domestic production of hybrid rice seed jumped by about 40 percent this boro season as some agribusiness companies such as AC1 Seed have gone into production in large scale, growers said.
"We are very happy. We have been able to produce about 300 tonnes of seeds this season from below 10 tonnes last season," said FH Ansarey, executive director of agribusiness division of about Tk 400 crore worth ACT
"We want to produce about 1,000 tonnes of hybrid rice seed next season, " he said.
The growers said total local production of hybrid rice seed stood at about 2,500 tonnes this season from about 1,800 tonnes last season due to efforts made by both new and old companies to produce more and reduce their import dependency.
Industry people said favourable weather condition during the recent boro season has resulted in higher production of hybrid rice seeds.
"Companies will have to increase their production if they want to sustain in the business here. It will help reduce import dependency and grow seeds under local weather," said Anwar Faruque, director general of Seed Wing ofthe Ministry of Agriculture.
The country's about half a billion dollar worth seed industry has been witnessing rapid growth for the last couple of years due mainly to government move to ensure food security for about 150 million population.
The hybrid rice cultivation area became more than double to about 10 lakh hectares this year from about 3.90 lakh hectares last year. Bulk of the requirement of the seeds is met from imports.
It is also expected to take place in as much as 15 lakh hectares of land in the coming boro season, the highest ever in Bangladesh's history. But environmental activists have opposed the move citing the insect attacks in the recent boro season.
At present, BRAC and Supreme Seed Company are producing the bulk quantity of hybrid rice seeds along with a dozen of other small growers.
'We need to produce more to reduce our import dependency," said Sudhir Chandra Nath, Programme Manager of Agro Marketing division of BRAC, the biggest producer of hybrid rice seed.
Citing the Chinese government's embargo on grain exports, he said it will help us become self- sufficient. BRAC has produced over 1200 MT of hybrid rice his year, he said.
Local companies usually
import parent seed lines to produce hybrid seeds here.
Mohammed Masum, Chairman of Supreme Seed Company, said local production is not increasing in line with the rise in demand.
"We can produce at a lower
cost compared with the import cost," said the Chairman of Supreme Seed, which has produced about 700 MT this year.
Mahbub Anam, Managing Director of Lalteer Seed Company formerly known as East West Seed Company, how-
ever said local companies can not increase production because of dearth ofland.
“It requires a vast quantity of isolated land. It is difficult for us to get such types of available land," he said.
sohel@thedailystar.net