Razzaque for quick expansion of saline tolerant rice variety in south

Staff Correspondent: Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque yesterday asked the agriculture officials to go for quick extension of saline tolerant rice variety in the southern region to ensure food supply for increasing population.
“Food demand is rising over the years and more new varieties and technologies are needed to tackle any challenge of food scarcity under continuous threat of arable land shrinking throughout the country,” he said.
The minister said this instruction while reviewing the progress of the implementation of Annual Development Programme (ADP) in a meeting held at the ministry’s conference room here.
A good number of saline tolerant varieties including BRRI Dhan 67, BRRI Dhan 97, BRRI Dhan 99 and BINA 10 have been invented in the country, he said, adding, “We have to disseminate these varieties among the farmers through producing adequate seed of these particular varieties.” Amid the corona pandemic, Dr Razzaque said, the ADP implementation progress of the agriculture ministry is 76 percent which is 18 percent more than the national average of 58 percent achieved till May 2021.
“This significant ADP implementation has been achieved after facing the current pandemic, cyclone, floods and various natural disasters. The ADP implementation rate during this year is more than 17 percent compare to the last year while it was only 59 percent in last year,” he said.
Till May 2020,the ministry spent Taka 1,042 crore against a total allocation of Taka 1,763 crore while in FY 2020-21, the overall expenditure is Taka 1,752 crore against the total allocation of Taka 2,322crore.
Ministry and Agriculture Extension Department officials, representatives from other agencies and different project officials, among others, attended the meeting. Senior Agriculture Secretary M Meshbahul Islam moderated the programme.