Gopalganj has achieved its target for paddy and rice procurement under the government’s Boro-2026 procurement programme, with paddy collection already completed and rice procurement continuing for mills that received additional allocations.
Gopalganj District Food Controller Anik Pal Ontu said the Ministry of Food had set a target of procuring 14,583 tonnes of paddy, 14,076 tonnes of parboiled rice and 242 tonnes of atap rice from six government food warehouses in the district.
The government fixed the procurement price at Tk 36 per kilogram for paddy and Tk 49 per kilogram for rice.
“We started the procurement campaign in May and completed paddy procurement well ahead of the deadline,” Anik Pal said.
So far, 14,318 tonnes of rice, including parboiled and atap rice, have been procured. Additional allocations were later given to some rice mills following applications from mill owners, and procurement from those mills is still continuing, he said.
The six government warehouses in Gopalganj have a combined storage capacity of 14,950 tonnes after a 30 per cent increase in capacity. Against this, the district has already procured 28,901 tonnes of paddy and rice—14,311 tonnes more than the warehouses can accommodate.
The additional stocks have been transported to government warehouses with available capacity in Faridpur, Rajbari, the Narayanganj silo, the Mongla silo and other locations, the district food controller said.
Paddy was procured directly from farmers, with each farmer allowed to sell up to three tonnes at Tk 36 per kilogram. Payments were made directly to farmers’ bank accounts.
“ We did not allow any syndicate to become active in the paddy procurement process,” Anik Pal said.
However, farmers and agricultural officials said government procurement covers only a small portion of the district’s total production.
According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Boro rice was cultivated on 82,593 hectares in Gopalganj this year, slightly above the target of 82,588 hectares.
The district’s production target was 635,927 tonnes, but actual production reached 646,703 tonnes—10,776 tonnes above the target.
Sanjay Kumar Kundu, acting deputy director of the DAE’s Gopalganj office, estimated that around 17,000 farmers may be involved in Boro cultivation in the district.
“According to the Directorate General of Food, paddy has been procured from around 5,000 farmers. This needs to be increased. If government procurement is expanded, it will encourage farmers to increase cultivation and production,” he said.
The government procurement price was higher than the prevailing market price, benefiting farmers who were able to sell their produce to government warehouses.
Parimal Biswas, a farmer from Charpara village in Raghunathpur Union, said he sold three tonnes of paddy at Tk 36 per kilogram.
“I am very happy to sell my paddy to the government. If the government continues buying from farmers this way, we will benefit,” he said.
Parimal said he produced 12 tonnes of paddy this year and urged the government to increase the maximum procurement limit from three tonnes to six tonnes per farmer.
But farmer Majed Sardar of Khanarpar village in Kathi Union said he produced 21 tonnes of paddy but could not sell any to the government.
“I was forced to sell my paddy to traders at Tk 1,000 per maund. I am disappointed. I want to sell my paddy to the government, so the procurement allocation in Gopalganj should be increased,” he said.
Md Momin Khan, an assistant professor in the Department of Food Science at Gopalganj Science and Technology University, called for increased government procurement, farmer support and expansion of storage facilities.
Nearly 650,000 tonnes of paddy were produced in Gopalganj this season, while the government’s paddy procurement target was only 14,583 tonnes, he noted.
“The amount procured from farmers is very small compared with total production,” he said.
Momin Khan also called for the construction of more government food warehouses so that larger stocks could be maintained for emergencies.
“More paddy should be procured directly from farmers. At the same time, new government warehouses should be built to increase storage capacity,” he said.
He also urged the authorities to curb the influence of intermediaries and ensure fair prices for farmers, saying stronger procurement and storage capacity would help reinforce food security.