Agriculture Minister Matia Chowdhury on Wednesday said the government has taken in hand a ‘special incentive programme’ to rehabilitate the farmers who were hard-hit by tropical cyclone ‘Mahasen’. “The government has taken the initiative to implement the agriculture rehabilitation programme involving about Tk 24.91 crore during the Aman season. Some 234,925 small and marginal farmers in 28 upazilas of four districts will be included in the programme,” she said at a press conference at her ministry at the Secretariat.
Matia said that under the incentive programme, for per bigha of land each farmer will get 5 kgs of high yielding varieties of Aman seed and 20kgs of DAP fertilizer, 10 kgs MOP and Tk 200 in cash.
She said that under the programme, 234,925 bighas 31,703 hectares of land in the country’s southern region will be brought under Aman cultivation. This will produce additional 79,638 metric tons of rice worth Tk 223 crore.
The Agriculture Minister also said that the value of straw from the harvest stand at Tk 8 crore. The value of rice and straw together will be Tk 231 crore.
Cyclone Mahasen struck the coastal areas of the country on May 16 this year wrecking havoc on public life and property. – UNB
