DHAKA, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- In order to boost winter rice cultivation, which is totally dependent on irrigation pumps, the Bangladeshi government has started disbursing 1.7 billion takas as incentives to farmers.
According to a statement of the Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday, some 2.7 million farmers across the country will get seeds and fertilizers under the program.
For boosting hybrid winter rice production, 1.5 million farmers will get 2 kg of seeds each spending 820 million takas on the incentives.
Apart from them, 1.2 million farmers will be beneficiaries under the incentive of 730 million takas for increasing the production of high-yielding varieties.
Apart from this, farmers will get fertilizer and agricultural equipment.
According to the statement, farmers are getting incentives from the country's agriculture rehabilitation support sector under the regular budget of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Monday reiterated her call for boosting food production to save the country from any possible trouble amid the global economic downturn.
"We have to increase our production and preserve those so that our country must not plunge into any danger," she said, adding that the government had set up a number of modern silos to stock rice. (1 U.S. dollar equals about 100 takas) ■
