Three individuals have been awarded the Duranta Biplob Krishi Puroskar 1430 for promoting indigenous rice.
Towkir Ahmed Monju of Jahanara Agro Food from Kishoreganj got the award for rice processing, Golam Sarwar Liton of Haor Krishi from Sunamganj for marketing, and Shahadat Hossain from Pabna for producing indigenous rice varieties.
The awards were distributed at an unceremonious program at Shahbagh on Friday. Family members of Duranta Biplob were present at the event.
Deshi Chaler Haat—an initiative undertaken by agroentrepreneur Duranta Biplob in 2022—has introduced the award for the first time in Bangladesh to recognize the contributions of the people working to ensure good health.
The Haat has been operational at Shahbagh every Friday since January 12. Tangail-based indigenous rice campaigner Hasan Mahidi is coordinating the makeshift haat, where safe food producers and sellers from different parts of the country showcase their products.
Duranta Biplob, 51, former general secretary of the Jahangirnagar University unit of the Chhatra League and former member of the Agriculture and Cooperative Sub-Committee of the Central Awami League, went missing on November 7, 2022. His body was found in the Buriganga River after five days.
Hasan Mahidi said the deshi rice market is a revolutionary idea of Duranta Biplob. Some of his followers started to implement it in 2022. The journey started on the footpath at Palashi in Dhaka. After that, daylong sales took place at Shahbagh and Mirpur-10. A total of three haats were held that year, but no haat was held in 2023.
At Shahbagh, the haat promotes and sells several types of indigenous varieties of rice (with half or full fibre) and paddy seeds, which are nearly extinct due to a lack of demand, at affordable prices.
Apart from rice, the haat features Binni rice from the hills, handmade brown sugar, hand-roasted puffed rice, flattened rice, kaun rice, barley powder, brown wheat flour, sesame, linseed, date molasses, honey, Chuijhal and various other safe food items, including mustard oil, linseed, and black cumin oil.
Beside the sale of products, lunch and dinner platters of indigenous Chamara rice, mashed vegetables of six types, and daal are available at Tk149.
These indigenous rice varieties are not sold in traditional markets due to the rising demand for polished and trimmed rice, named Miniket or Najirshail. Authorities say there is no paddy variety named Miniket or Najirshail in the country. The traders are actually trimming BRRI-28 and BRRI-29 rice varieties to make these brands and make higher profits.
The consumers are deceived as they look for polished and fine rice and are given trimmed Jeera Shail and Shampa Katari.
