Online Desk: Ninety percent of paddy produced in the Boro season have been harvested so far in the flood-prone haor areas in the country, said Agriculture Minister Muhammad Abdur Razzaque today. Thirty three percent of the paddy have been harvested across the country so far which is a good start, he said while speaking at a press briefing held at the secretariat.

Mentioning that Boro season is the main paddy season, Razzaque, said every year, 48-49 lakh hectares of land are brought under Boro cultivation but this year 50 lakh hectares of land have been brought under cultivation exceeding the target. Of the total cultivation, 9.50 lakh hectares of land in haor areas have been brought under Boro cultivation with a production target of 38 lakh tonnes of paddy, he said.

Recalling the previous experiences during the harvesting time of boro paddy, the minister said haor areas always see flash flood during Boro season. “But this year, 90 percent of paddy have been harvested in haro areas and we have made it possible as we encouraged the farmers to harvest their paddy earlier.” Besides, Boro growers in Sunamganj used 1,000 combine harvester and 668 reapers to harvest paddy, which is a great achievement, he said. “This year, the government has set a target to produce 2.15 crore tonnes of rice but we hope that we will be able to produce 2.20-2.25 crore tonnes,” he said.

Referring to favourable weather, he also hoped that there would be no crisis of food. He claimed the price of paddy is better than the previous year. He also said he received no complaint