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Ensuring food security is the Govt’s goal: Minister
Published : Saturday, 14 November, 2026 at 8:38 PM
Observer Online Report
Ensuring fair prices for farmers' harvested paddy, increasing government food reserves, and making safe and nutritious food affordable for ordinary people are the government's key priorities, Food Minister Afroza Khanam Rita has said.
She said food security was not limited to food production alone. It was also the government's responsibility to ensure that every citizen had access to safe and nutritious food and the purchasing power to afford it.
The minister made these remarks as the chief guest at the inauguration of the 2026 Aman Paddy Procurement Drive under the domestic procurement programme at the Baliyati Ishwar Chandra High School ground in Saturia upazila of Manikganj on Saturday (November 14) at around 4:30 pm.
The event formally launched the nationwide government procurement programme for Aman paddy and rice.
The minister said the government was working to reduce the dominance of middlemen and ensure fair prices for farmers by directly procuring paddy from genuine farmers.
She added that initiatives had also been taken to build adequate reserves of paddy and rice in government warehouses, maintain normal market supply and continue food assistance programmes for low-income people.
She further emphasised the need to set procurement prices for paddy and rice in line with production costs, increase agricultural output and modernise government food stock management systems.
Transparency and accountability must be ensured in these activities, she said, adding that adequate government food reserves play an important role in dealing with natural disasters, food shortages and price hikes in international markets.
The minister also instructed the concerned officials to ensure that farmers faced no delays in receiving payments after supplying their paddy and rice.
The programme was chaired by Deputy Commissioner Nazmun Ara Sultana.
Special guests included Food Ministry Secretary Abu Taher Md. Masud Rana, Director General of the Directorate General of Food Md. Jasim Uddin Khan, Director General of the Food Planning and Monitoring Unit Md. Mahabubur Rahman, Additional Director General Md. Jamal Uddin, Director (Procurement) Md. Moniruzzaman, Superintendent of Police Sarwar Alam and Saturia Upazila Nirbahi Officer Kazi Mohammad Anik Islam.
Also present were members of the district BNP convening committee Nurtaz Alam Bahar, Azad Hossain Khan and Golam Abedin Kaisar; District Krishak Dal President Golam Kibria Saeed; and General Secretary Abdus Salam Badal, along with officials from relevant departments and local political leaders.
The programme was conducted by Amir Hamza, convener of the Saturia Upazila Jubo Dal.
According to the District Food Controller's Office, the government has set a target of procuring 300,000 metric tonnes of Aman paddy nationwide during the 2026-27 season.
Of this amount, 27,651 metric tonnes will be procured from Dhaka Division and 1,322 metric tonnes from Manikganj district.
Under the government's decision, paddy will be purchased at Tk 35 per kilogram and rice at Tk 49 per kilogram.
The procurement targets for the seven upazilas of Manikganj are as follows:
Manikganj Sadar: 222 metric tonnes, Shibalaya: 283 metric tonnes, Ghior: 339 metric tonnes, Saturia: 127 metric tonnes, Singair: 221 metric tonnes, Harirampur: 74 metric tonnes, Daulatpur: 56 metric tonnes
-MT
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, 01550707296
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]. [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Online-email: [email protected]
