Addressing a press conference at the secretariat, he said: "The government earlier decided to procure 1,200,000 tons of rice and 150,000 tons of paddy. But, now it has decided to buy 250,000 tons more as farmers are being deprived of a fair price in keeping with its bountiful production.”With this, he said, the government’s total paddy procurement will now stand at 400,000 tons, reports UNB. The government has so far managed to procure 30,000 tons of paddy from farmers. Paddy will not be bought for the second time from the farmers enlisted by the Agriculture Department," the minister said. Agriculture Minister Abdur Razzak, who was also present at the press briefing, said the government will procure one or two more tons of paddy, outside the total 400,000 tons, if necessary.

Source: Dhaka Tribune June 11, 2019 15:32 UTC