Workers are seen packing a mountain of paddy into sacks at a local market in Singra upazila of Natore. Although the government’s paddy procurement drive began two months ago, results have been inadequate so far as farmers are getting better prices in local markets.

MOSTAFA SHABUJ and SOHEL PARVEZ

The government’s paddy procurement drive is far below its target for this year even though two months have gone by since the process began at the end of April.

The Directorate General of Food (DG of Food) could only procure one-fifth of its target to buy paddy grown in the immediate Boro season. In case of milled rice, its performance is much better but still below the official target as of the end of June.

The agency could procure 53 per cent of the targeted 11 lakh tonnes of grain used to build up public food stock and conduct distribution programmes under the state’s various social safety net schemes.

It aimed to buy 70 per cent of the total rice procurement target by the end of June this year.

However, the DG of Food has fallen behind as it could buy only 20 tonnes of wheat out of the 150,000-tonne target due to a lack of interest amid growers resulting from better market prices compared to government rates.

Farmers, millers and food officials said the high price of paddy and 14 per cent limit on moisture in the crop discourages many growers from taking their produce to purchase centres of the food office as most of them do not have the facilities to measure moisture content.

Abuld Mazid, a farmer in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha, said growers are reluctant to sell at government rates as the current market price of paddy is higher.

Besides, there is a lot of hassles in selling to the government as farmers have to have a bank account and reduce moisture levels in their paddy to the permissible level.

“In addition, production costs were higher this year so I would incur losses had I supplied my produce to the government warehouse,” he added.

Echoing the same, Alamgir Kabir, the district controller of food in Naogaon, said they are lagging behind in procurement as the current market prices are higher than the government’s purchase rate of Tk 27 per kilogramme (kg).

“Due to unfavorable weather, rice production was bad and millers try to provide us low quality rice and we have to check it,” he added.

The government is buying parboiled rice at Tk 40 per kg this year, which is below the current market price of the grain.

Naogaon is a major rice producing district in the country’s northwest and the local food office has attained 49 per cent of its target to procure 49,400 tonnes by signing contracts with millers.

In case of wheat, Kabir said just a single farmer had sold one tonne of the crop to the state food office before the Russia-Ukraine war began.

“The market price of wheat was not as high at the time,” he added.

Meanwhile, the district food office in Gaibandha has been able to buy 27 per cent of its total Boro paddy procurement target of 11,649 tonnes by June 27.

In regards to rice, it signed deals with millers to purchase 42 per cent of the 29,402-tonne target for the cereal grain. However, the local food office has failed to get any wheat so far.

Antara Mollik, district food controller of Gaibandha, said farmers in the region mainly grow coarse paddy that is priced around Tk 950 per maund, which is below the government’s purchasing rate.

“So, farmers are eagerly giving us this paddy and our progress is better than any district in Rangpur,” she added.

Md Ashrafuzzaman, district food controller of Bogura, said his office will be able to achieve its procurement target as they have agreements with more than 1,200 millers in the region.

“Millers must supply rice to the state go-downs or else they will face penalties for their failure to comply with the rule,” he added.

“Still though, it is difficult to arrange grains at the moment as farmers are getting better prices in local markets.”

Md Belal Hossain, proprietor of the Bushara Auto Rice Mill in the Santahar area under Adamdighi upazila of Bogura, said they signed a contract with the food office to supply 1,390 tonnes of parboiled rice, of which they have already supplied 800 tonnes.

Md Raihanul Kabir, director of procurement at the DG of Food, said the government mainly wants to ensure fair prices for farmers and that the trend of rice procurement has been normal so far given previous trends.

The DG of Food could not attain its paddy purchase goal from growers for the last two years and this would be the third year in a row if it fails to buy the planned 650,000 tonnes of paddy.

In case of rice procurement, it fell short of its target for the last three years since 2019, according to food ministry data.

The food office planned to buy 70 per cent of the grains by June, 90 per cent by July and 100 per cent by August.

AMM Shawkat Ali, a former food adviser of the caretaker government, said the recent floods caused by recurrent rainfall might have affected the drying of paddy harvested in the May-June period.

“Realisation of the procurement target has become vital this year to build an adequate public food stock,” he added.

Ali went on to say the government should go for reforms in the domestic procurement of paddy and wheat by increasing the moisture content requirement to 17 per cent from 14 per cent so that farmers can easily sell their grains to state go-downs.

Ali then said the government should allow private traders to import rice freely while also ensuring strict quality control.

The former food adviser also suggested the government consider importing in joint ventures with the private sector.

As of July 3, food grain stocks in state warehouses stood at Tk 16.25 lakh tonnes, up 11 per cent year-on-year.