Bangladesh witnesses increased production of three major foodgrains by 13 per cent in the past six years with rice yield showing a growth of 8.59 per cent to strengthen further the food security, according to latest official statistics, reports BSS.
"If you analyze the figures in the past six years since 2009-2010, rice production grew by 8.59 per cent, wheat by 43.96 per cent and maize by 87.73 per cent," an agriculture ministry spokesman told the news agency referring to their latest statistics.
The figures showed that rice production rose to 350 lakh tonne from 322.57 lakh tonne, wheat to nearly 14 lakh tonnes from 9.69 lakh tonne and maize yield jumped to over 25 lakh tonne while the volume was only 13.70 lakh tonne six years ago.
Being the sample food of the country rice, however, covered a larger area of cultivation while maize, still being produced to feed the poultry firms and livestock sector, seasonally occupy a smaller area of land.
Officials and experts preferred to tally the volume of grain production with vegetable yield and non-crop sectors like fisheries and livestock to analyze the extent of self sufficiency in food production.
Former member director of Bangladesh Agriculture Research Council (BARC) and director general of Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) Dr Jahangir Alam said non-crop sector like fisheries and livestock also grew by five per cent particularly in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12.
"If the growth rate is sustained we will be self-sufficient in the vegetable production in the next 10 years, while by now we nearly became
self-sufficient in food grain production," he said.
Department of Agricultural Extension's (DAE) director general Hamidur Rahman said compared to the global average Bangladesh's food grain production was higher largely due to "policy support, timely supply of agricultural inputs to farmers and their access to credit".
"Innovation of new varieties of different crops and adoption of new technology contributed hugely to enhanced yield," the DAE chief said.
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Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.
Editor : M. Shamsur Rahman
Published by the Editor on behalf of Independent Publications Limited at Media Printers, 446/H, Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1215.
Editorial, News & Commercial Offices : Beximco Media Complex, 149-150 Tejgaon I/A, Dhaka-1208, Bangladesh. GPO Box No. 934, Dhaka-1000.