The government has taken up a scheme to procure six lakh tonnes of paddy and three and a half lakh tonnes of rice directly from the farmers in the upcoming season.

The paddy will be procured at the rate of Tk 26 per kilogramme (Kgs) from November 20 while rice at Tk 36 per kg from December 1, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said at a press briefing at the secretariat today.

The government has taken up a scheme to procure six lakh tonnes of paddy and two and a half lakh tonnes of rice directly from the farmers in the upcoming season. Photo: Rezaul Karim Byron

The government will also procure 50,000 tonnes of non-boiled (atap) rice at Tk 35 per kg, the minister said.

The decision was taken at a meeting of the food planning and monitoring committee today, the Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said at a press briefing at the secretariat.

Meanwhile, the food minister and Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzak who also attended the meeting expressed dissatisfaction over the absence of the finance minister.