JS body for stopping rice import

Amid widespread protests over the steep fall in paddy prices, the parliamentary standing committee on the food ministry yesterday recommended stopping import of rice.

The committee at a meeting at the parliament complex said import of rice under public and private initiatives would have to be stopped and the volume of paddy procurement from farmers would have to be hiked for the sake of growers’ interest, meeting sources told The Daily Star.

Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder, Dhirendro Debnath Shambhu, Ayan Uddin and Ataur Rahman Khan, among the committee members, were present at the meeting, chaired by Mohammed Nasim.

The food ministry informed the meeting that it has decided to procure around 1.5 lakh tonnes of paddy at Tk 26 per kg directly from farmers this year.

The committee requested the ministry to consider buying more paddy from the farmers directly. It also discussed the situation that emerged following the fall in paddy prices and stressed the need for procuring paddy directly from farmers in a transparent way.

Farmers in different districts took to the streets in the last two weeks, demanding higher prices for their produce.

They formed human chains, held press conferences and blocked roads to press home their demand.