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The government is falling behind on its paddy procurement target this Boro season as farmers are reluctant to deliver their harvest to state-owned warehouses due to complicated bureaucratic formalities that require the growers bear additional costs.
However, rice procurement in the season is going well, officials familiar with the matter said.
This year, the food ministry has planned to buy 16.5 lakh tonnes of Boro rice and paddy in a four-month drive that started from 7 May. The target is to procure 4 lakh tonnes of paddy and 12.5 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice this season.
The government has set the procurement price of paddy at Tk 30 per kg this season, up from Tk 28 per kg last season, while the parboiled rice is priced at Tk 44 per kg, which was Tk 42 per kg last Aman season.
So far, the Directorate General of Food has collected only 11,000 tonnes of paddy and 1.96 lakh tonnes of rice so far.
Complicated process
According to farmers and mill owners, there are various complications and formalities in the government procurement process that discourage farmers from delivering paddy to government warehouses.
Farhad Hossain, general secretary of Naogaon Rice Mill Owners Association said, “There are carrying costs and other formalities to deliver rice to government warehouses, which is a lot of trouble for a common farmer.
He said, “Currently, paddy with 18-20 per cent moisture is being sold at Tk 26-27 per kg in Naogaon district. The government is offering Tk 30 per kg for paddy with 14 per cent moisture.
“Farmers are getting this price even by selling such moisture paddy in the open market. Hence, farmers are not giving paddy to government warehouses.”
Main goal achieved
Meanwhile, food ministry officials said the main objective of the government is to keep the price normal in the market. This objective has been met. The farmers are getting good prices for rice. So instead of paying attention to the procurement of paddy, authorities are focusing on procuring rice.
Md Jamal Hossain, director of Storage and Silo Division, Directorate General of Food, said after collecting paddy, the government has to send it to the mills again to convert it into rice. It also incurs additional costs and hassles for the government.
Jamal, who has been tasked with monitoring rice-paddy procurement in Rajshahi Division, said the government still collects paddy to ensure that the farmers get the right price for their harvest.
“If the price falls in the open market, the farmer can give the paddy to the government warehouse and avoid losses.”
He continued that the government's objective has been achieved. Farmers no longer have to worry about the price of rice in the market. They are getting good prices every year.
Another reason for slow paddy procurement is that the farmers are not obliged to supply paddy to the government warehouse like the mill owners are obliged to supply rice, he added.
Lax monitoring
Meanwhile, experts have blamed lax monitoring for the low procurement rate of paddy.
Although procurement began from May 7, officials appointed by the food ministry to monitor division-wise procurement did not receive orders to begin work even two weeks later.
The monitoring order letter which is available from the website of the Food Directorate was issued on May 22.
Last year, the government decided to procure 6.5 lakh tonnes of paddy, while parboiled rice 13 lakh tonnes and non-boiled rice 0.50 lakh tonnes during the boro season. But they could procure only 2.86 lakh tonnes of paddy and 11 lakh tonnes of rice last year.
According to sources, the government has to provide various assistance to food growers, sell food at subsidised prices and maintain food stocks to ensure market stability.
The government distributes food items through Open Market Sale (OMS) and Food Friendly Program (FFP) and Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF), which is very important in the life of poor people.
In addition, the government's food reserves play a major role in preventing the abnormal increase in food prices in the market. Hence, experts suggest that the government should build a buffer stock of at least 25 lakh tonnes of food.
According to food ministry data, the country has a stock of 16.10 lakh tonnes of food, including 7,000 tonnes of paddy, 12.07 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice, and 3.98 lakh tonnes of wheat.
